More trouble for Commanders as star WR skips mandatory minicamp
The Washington Commanders selected wide receiver Terry McLaurin in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In his brief career, the young wide receiver has a combined 222 receptions for 3,090 yards and 16 touchdowns. Now in the final year of his rookie contract, he’s ready for a new deal.
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As reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, McLaurin is holding out from mandatory minicamp until a new deal is done. This will have the wideout incur fines of over $93,000. Of course, should Washington play ball, McLaurin stands to gain far more.
“This is one of the big, I would say, intention targets for the Washington Commanders this offseason is to make sure Terry McLaurin is in the fold for the foreseeable future, to pay him like he so richly deserves and make him among the highest paid wide receivers in the NFL. He is in the same group as all of these guys, which is a young receiver who deserves to get paid on a very cheap deal and someone that I would say the Washington Commanders know how valuable he is despite the fact that they took a receiver in the first round.”
McLaurin missing minicamp means he’s also going to miss valuable time with Washington's new quarterback, Carson Wentz. If history is any indication, it will take the much-maligned quarterback some time to settle in.
Last season with the Indianapolis Colts, Wentz had a bout with COVID-19 that saw him miss much of camp leading up to the preseason and he didn’t seem to warm up to the system until the team was a few games into the regular season.
The Commanders will need all hands on deck to compete in the NFC East this year
The longer the Commanders take to work on a new deal for McLaurin, the more work it will take to build chemistry between the young receiver and his new quarterback. If Washington hopes to compete in the NFC East this year, they will need every advantage they can possibly get.
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The Dallas Cowboys have their sights set on a division championship title with an improved offensive line and new plans on utilizing running back Tony Pollard as a wide receiver as well. The Philadelphia Eagles can’t be counted out with A.J. Brown now a part of the offense. Washington can’t afford to let McLaurin hold out for too long.