Terry McLaurin is currently scheduled to play under the extension he signed in 2022 that came off the heels of his rookie contract after he emerged from the third round of the NFL Draft to become the feature receiver in the Washington Commanders' offense.
Now, as a proven veteran coming off of his fifth-straight 1,000-yard receiving season, McLaurin is in line for another new contract with the Commanders and has been sitting out the final voluntary stages of the team's offseason program in hopes of accelerating his arrival to that outcome sooner rather than later.
Washington is expected to come to terms with McLaurin anytime between, well, now, and training camp, and when it does, the deal should be fairly substantial.
"McLaurin has thrived regardless of who is throwing him the football in Washington," says NFL.com senior researcher Anthony Holzman-Escareno in his All-Paid Team of Tomorrow column. "He's led the team in receptions and receiving yards in each of his first six seasons. In his first year with Jayden Daniels under center, McLaurin almost doubled his previous high in touchdown catches (from 7 to 13) and finished with his fifth straight 1,000-yard season. He's consistently made his quarterbacks better (he led the NFL with 24 contested catches in 2024). McLaurin turns 30 in September and is in the final season of his deal. He won't challenge Ja'Marr Chase's salary, but he'll be paid like a clear WR1 soon."
While we agree McLaurin won't reset the market, per se, he should certainly help push the window of what a 'top contract' really means for NFL receivers.
The Commanders' mandatory minicamp begins on Tuesday, and while the team may be without McLaurin for those two or three days if a deal isn't reached in time, there's little doubt the star receiver will be on the premises when training camp launches in late July, just in time to get rolling with quarterback Jayden Daniels as he finally has a starter worth coming back for seconds with.
