In an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the Commanders and WR Terry McLaurin remain deadlocked in a contract standoff with no movement from either side yet.
He also shed some light on what’s been holding up a deal, revealing that the team and player have fundamentally different ideas of how much would be fair on a new deal.
“There’s no update on the Terry McLaurin situation and that’s the update,” Schefter said. “…The problem is with this particular situation I think Terry McLaurin is going to argue that we’ve seen other wide receivers who his numbers are comparable to, like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and D.K. Metcalf, get paid over $30 million a year this offseason. And then the Commanders can say yes, but Mike Evans, who also has had comparable numbers, is at $24 million dollars (a year).
“There really is quite difference and a gap between what both sides would want. They have not made any progress.”
McLaurin was drafted the same year as Metcalf in 2019, but he’s just two years younger than Evans who was drafted all the way back in 2014. He turns 30 in September and Washington clearly has some trepidation about forking over a massive amount to a player at that age.
Despite the gap, Schefter asserted the Commanders would be opposed to trading McLaurin even if they got interest in the coming months if this drags out.
“We’ll see if there are any teams that decide to come snooping around Terry McLaurin to see if they could try to pry [him] loose,” Schefter said. “Who, by the way, I cannot envision the Commanders moving on from no matter how disgruntled he may be.”
Schefter compared this to the ongoing contract situation with Steelers OLB T.J. Watt, noting it’s hard to envision the two sides not eventually bridging the gap. But as of today, they’re not close.
The veteran wideout is entering the final year of his contract in 2025 and is coming off a career year for the breakout Commanders. He skipped mandatory minicamp in June to send a message about his unhappiness with talks.
McLaurin, 29, was selected with the No. 76 overall pick in the third round out of Ohio State by Washington in 2019. He signed a four-year, $3,962,594 rookie contract.
McLaurin was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 when he signed a three-year, $71 million extension. He’s entering the final year of that deal and is set to earn a base salary of $15.5 million in 2025.
In 2024, McLaurin appeared in all 17 games and recorded 82 receptions on 117 targets for 1,096 yards (13.4 YPC) and 13 touchdowns.
We’ll have more on the Commanders and McLaurin as the news is available.
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