Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera kicked off his press conference after Tuesday’s OTAs discussing the players who weren’t in attendance. Wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Cam Sims and defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat were absent.
Everyone knew why McLaurin was out. Last month, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that McLaurin would skip the on-field portion of Washington’s offseason while his contract situation remained unresolved.
Rivera didn’t want to get into the specifics of McLaurin’s absence but did offer what sounded like a positive update.
“We’ve had communications with them,” Rivera said of McLaurin’s representatives. “We’ve been working with them. It’s just a matter of time.”
That last sentence should offer Washington fans hope. Fans are naturally pessimistic about the Commanders keeping their best players, for good reason. The McLaurin situation just seems different. McLaurin is a star, but he’s also a team-first guy. Washington’s management knows McLaurin’s importance goes far beyond the field.
Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew have said multiple times this offseason how much the team wants to retain McLaurin and have always expressed confidence a deal would get done. As long as McLaurin wants to remain and the team doesn’t foolishly lowball him, an agreement should get done in the next few months.