No three players are more recognizable and more important to the Washington Commanders than Jonathan Allen, Terry McLaurin and Chase Young. Sure, you can throw Carson Wentz and Montez Sweat in there, too, but as far as success on the field and popularity off the field and in the community, the trio of Allen, McLaurin and Young are the top of the class.
And now, all three are guaranteed to be in Washington for at least the next three seasons after the Commanders agreed to terms with McLaurin on a three-year contract extension Tuesday.
Allen signed a four-year extension last summer and was so excited about Washington and McLaurin reaching a deal that he surprised the “Grant and Danny” show Tuesday on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., by calling in. Paulsen jokingly referred to the caller as “Jon in Ashburn” before revealing the caller as Jonathan Allen.
“Man, I’m fired up, man,” Allen said. “I think when a guy like Terry gets paid, it really just gives you a restored faith in the team that you reward guys for doing it the right way and I don’t there is a better example than Terry.”
Allen wasn’t done discussing the impact on McLaurin’s impact in the locker room.
“For a guy like Terry to get paid, it means a lot to a lot of guys in that locker room,” Allen said. “So, I’m fired up, I know he’s fired up, and we’re just, as a team and organization, we’re all just fired up right now.”
Allen was on the golf course when he received the news of McLaurin’s extension and was so excited he called into the radio show. He wasn’t done expressing his excitement about Washington retaining McLaurin.
“I think it means a lot, I think it shows the value he brought to the team, on the field and off the field,” Allen said. “I know a lot of people might not understand that, but when you have a guy as good as good as he is, and as humble as he is, and as great as a team leader as he is, you don’t let guys like that get out of the building. I’m glad he’s going to be with us for the foreseeable future.”
Now, the Commanders have retained two critical homegrown players in back-to-back seasons. One point Allen made that will get overlooked by some is how other players in the locker room will feel about McLaurin’s extension. Players pay attention. They now see if you do things the right way and succeed, Washington will pay you.
Tuesday was a great day for the Commanders, possibly the best day since the official rebranding on Feb. 2.