Daily Slop – 27 Jul 25 – McLaurin’s holdout ends on steamy Sunday of the NFL’s ‘Back Together Weekend’

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff

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Articles

Washington Post (paywall)

Terry McLaurin ends holdout, returns to Commanders training camp

The wide receiver was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list because of an ankle injury. He has not received a new contract.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who missed much of the offseason and the start of training camp as he seeks a new contract with the team, ended his holdout Sunday morning — without a new deal.

“He seemed very much like himself. Terry is always a serious competitor, a pro’s pro. He handles things the right way,” Coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s built a lot with his teammates here.”

While on PUP, McLaurin counts against the team’s 90-player offseason roster cap and can join meetings, but he cannot participate in on-field work. He can return at any point once he’s medically cleared. Ouinn indicated McLaurin would spend Sunday morning on a side field alongside guard Sam Cosmi (ACL injury) working with the team’s athletic trainers.

McLaurin participated at the start of Washington’s offseason program, but he skipped most of the voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) and held out for all of mandatory minicamp because of his contract, potentially costing him $105,000 in fines.

A week before Commanders veterans were required to report to training camp, McLaurin spoke to reporters for more than 30 minutes after shooting a commercial for Easterns Automotive Group in Laurel about his “frustration” and “disappointment” over his contract negotiations.

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ESPN

Commanders’ Terry McLaurin arrives at camp, put on PUP list

The Commanders opened training camp on July 23. Sunday is the first day fans can attend practices.

McLaurin said earlier this month that he would not step on the field without “progression” toward a new contract. His reporting does not necessarily mean there has been progress considering he’s not expected to participate.

“It’s the nature of our business,” Peters said on the first day of camp. “You’d like to get these things done quicker, but it doesn’t always happen that way. … You’re dealing with a really good player and really good person, and you never lose sight of that and make sure every conversation you have is very straightforward and in good faith and keeping that mindset throughout … understanding our goal is to get a deal done.

“Whatever happens along the way, just understand he’s a great player and we want to keep him here.”

McLaurin has not publicly stated what sort of contract he is looking for, but he said last week that “with how the market is today, it conveys what guys of my caliber are deserving of.”

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders insider believes joint practices could decide Ja’Corey Brooks’ roster fate

Zach Selby from the team’s website unsurprisingly named Brooks among his biggest camp standouts so far. However, the senior writer thought some tricky upcoming challenges could determine his fate one way or another.

“[Ja’Corey] Brooks is a long way from earning a spot on the 53-man roster, but he certainly helped his cause during the first two days of camp. Brooks isn’t getting too excited about his start to camp, which is smart, because there are several more tests for him to take on. He’ll have to maintain his production in the preseason as well as joint practices with the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. Still, he should have his coaches’ attention after what he did earlier in the week.”

Zach Selby

Flashing promise going up against fellow teammates is one thing. Doing it against legitimate opposition is something else entirely.

That’s the test awaiting Brooks in the not-too-distant future. He’s off to a good start, but that will count for nothing if he cannot build on this newly acquired momentum. And if the former Louisville standout has a similar impact on joint practices and the preseason, he might just find himself on the 53-man squad when push comes to shove.

It could still go either way for Brooks. The Commanders have plenty of strong options in the receiver room, and there aren’t many places genuinely up for grabs. This isn’t a bad thing from Washington’s perspective, but some good players are going to be out of luck when final cuts arrive.

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Commanders Wire

Where do the Commanders rank in wide receiver spending?

Warren Sharp unveiled the surprising news that the Commanders are actually committed to paying the fifth-highest amount of all 32 NFL teams to their receivers in 2025. Sharp has the Commanders committed to pay out $43.9M to their receivers this season. Sharp noted his numbers reflect the actual cap hit for each NFL team this 2025 season.

According to Sharp’s numbers, here is the top half of the NFL (16 teams):

• $57.5M – Bengals
• $50.4M – Buccaneers
• $47.1M – Titans
• $46.7M – Dolphins
• $43.9M – Commanders
• $42.4M – Bears
• $40.4M – Colts
• $36.6M – Falcons
• $35.8M – Lions
• $35.0M – Cowboys
• $34.0M – Eagles
• $33.0M – Broncos
• $31.3M – Vikings
• $30.5M – Patriots
• $30.4M – Rams
• $29.6M – Texans

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Commanders.com

Vernon Davis recalls his time playing with ‘dynamic teammate’ Von Miller

Former Washington tight end Vernon Davis joined the Get Loud podcast to discuss his time with Miller in Denver.

“I won Super Bowl 50 with Von Miller,” Davis said. “He was a dynamic teammate. He was a great locker room guy. Not only was he a great locker room guy, but he was a true leader. On the field you knew what you were getting. His ability to get to the quarterback is unparalleled.”

Miller was, in fact, dynamic, being the fourth linebacker ever to earn the Super Bowl MVP. In that game, he sacked Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton 2.5 times, helping to set the Broncos up for two touchdowns in their 24-10 win.

“[He] can still play the game at a high level.” Davis added. “It’s a testament to how he’s treated his body. He put a lot of energy into his craft… You’re getting someone who is also a coach and teacher.”

As one of the oldest active players in the league, Miller recorded the fastest average pass-rush get-off of .69 seconds in the league, according to Next Gen Stats.

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Heavy.com

Commanders have ‘wideback’ candidates in addition to Deebo

Samuel’s running and receiving double act, particularly during his banner campaign of 2021, helped coin the term “wideback,” given to a wideout who’s almost equally effective from the backfield.

This sub-section of position groups may be fronted by Samuel, but the Commanders have other viable candidates. They include second-year wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, a converted quarterback targeting a breakout this season.

McCaffrey will fight for reps with 2025 NFL draft fourth-round pick Jaylin Lane. He’s an electric speedster who can also gash defenses on the ground and through the air.

All of the moving parts at Kingsbury’s disposal can make the Commanders the most unpredictable offense in the NFL. Especially when the secrets of their Samuel plan are revealed.

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Podcasts & videos

BACK TOGETHER SUNDAY! | Command Center LIVE From the First Open Practice | Washington Commanders

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NFC East links

Big Blue View

The 2025 Giants are not built to win now

Realistically, though, it would be a surprise if the Giants contended this season. Never say never – the Washington Commanders showed that last season. Washington’s schedule was pretty similar in difficulty to that of the Giants. Their only real advantage was getting to play the Giants twice, which of course the Giants didn’t get to do (though the Giants did often beat themselves last season – see the first Washington, Cincinnati, first Dallas, Carolina, and New Orleans games).

The big thing in the Commanders’ favor was that No. 2 draft pick, which became Jayden Daniels. Washington GM Adam Peters said just before the 2024 season began that the Commanders weren’t in a rebuild; they were looking to win now. And he and head coach Dan Quinn delivered on that. I don’t know whether he already knew enough about Daniels that he was sure he’d be an instant success before he even got to training camp, or whether it was camp that gave him that conviction. But Peters built that team as if he expected it to be a contender, signing a bunch of prominent veterans who were on the downside of their careers but still had something left to 1-year contracts (e.g., Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, Cornelius Lucas, Dante Fowler) and signing or trading for others in mid-career (e.g., Frankie Luvu, Marshon Lattimore, Dorance Armstrong, Jeremy Chinn).

The Giants under Joe Schoen have mostly not operated that way, with two notable exceptions: The $40M annual average value (AAV) Daniel Jones contract (though Jones was never what you’d call prominent) and the brief $17M AAV Darren Waller fever dream. Neither worked out, to put it mildly. Joe Schoen seems to have learned his lesson from that and has otherwise mostly eschewed high-profile free agents or trades. Furthermore, other than the Jones debacle, he has avoided giving large contracts to the Giants’ own drafted players.

The Giants have many more players age 27 and younger, and especially 24 and younger, than the Commanders do, while the Commanders have many more players age 28-31 than the Giants do. Those two 21-year-olds on the Giants’ roster? Malik Nabers (38 college games) and Abdul Carter (42 college games). Jaxson Dart is 22 (45 college games). Jayden Daniels (55 college games) is 24; that may be one facet of why he excelled so soon as a pro.

That is the difference between a win-now and a win-later philosophy. Peters, of course, wants to build something lasting, as John Lynch and he did in San Francisco, but he apparently decided before his first draft that he could win now and signed fairly prominent older veteran free agents before he had even drafted Daniels. I’m not sure he knew that Daniels would be as good as he was right out of the chute, but it worked. Many of those older veterans came back on one-year deals this year, and he added Von Miller to boot, also on a one-year deal, so he is doubling down on that strategy.

The only older veteran of any real consequence that Joe Schoen has on the roster this year (on offense or defense) is Jermaine Eluemunor, who is only 30 and could conceivably get a new contract to stay with the Giants. The two veteran QBs he signed are a one-year rental and a two-year backup to hold the fort and mentor Jaxson Dart.

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