Commanders’ Terry McLaurin thinking of using training camp as leverage

Drama between the Washington Commanders and star wide receiver Terry McLaurin is unfolding ahead of the team's training camp. McLaurin clearly wants a big contract next, but the two sides have yet to agree on one, with the former Ohio State Buckeyes star already speaking out on the matter.

“I've been pretty frustrated, I'm not going to lie,” McLaurin said recently (h/t Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports). “Everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I want to continue my career here, I've created my life here, my wife and I have bought our first home here. So this has been somewhere where I've always wanted to be. Just to see how things have played out has been disappointing. Obviously I understand everything is a business, but at the same time I want to put myself in a position where I'm valued and I feel appreciated and things like that. Unfortunately that hasn't transpired the way I want it to, so I'm just trying to take things day by day.”

Terry McLaurin is still on the three-year, $68.36 million contract extension he signed with Washington back in the summer of 2022. He's already said that there has been no conversation thus far with the team about an extension, and according to NFL insider James Palmer, McLaurin is ready to miss the start of the training camp to send a strong message across about his stance (h/t Doric Sam of Bleacher Report).

Wrote Sam: “He's not sure if he's gonna show up for camp or not,” Palmer said of McLaurin. “He didn't participate in any of the offseason activities… He hasn't gotten there yet, and I think this is important: he said, ‘I'm gonna see how the rest of the week plays out.' What usually drives a lot of contracts [is] deadlines, and a deadline could be the start of training camp.”

The Commanders need to resolve this situation with McLaurin, given that he's their most dangerous downfield target and one who significantly contributed to making quarterback Jayden Daniels' rookie season a success. In 2024, McLaurin led the Commanders with 1,096 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on 82 receptions and 117 targets.