Terry McLaurin Minicamp News Is Bad Sign for Carson Wentz
By Matt De Saro
For a guy who is talented, rich, and famous as Carson Wentz, life kind of sucks for him more often than one would expect. He just can't seem to catch a break and today was the latest in a long line of bad news for the quarterback.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Washington Commanders' new quarterback will be short one superstar wide receiver for at least a little while due to Terry McLaurin’s decision not to attend mandatory minicamp.
This begs the question of why the “mandatory” tag is on these minicamps if guys can just blow them off as McLaurin seems to be doing. He will incur a $95,877 fine if he skips the whole camp at least. As usual, this holdout is due to contractual issues as the wideout is seeking a contract extension in line with other deals signed in the offseason.
Washington WR Terry McLaurin does not plan to attend this week’s mandatory minicamp, per source. McLaurin is continuing to seek a contract extension consistent with other comparable WRs that recently signed; until he has it, he will miss reps with new Washington QB Carson Wentz.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 13, 2022
McLaurin, who was a third-round draft pick in 2019, will be playing in the fourth and final year of his rookie deal of $2.79 million. He has been by far the best offensive player on the team with over 3,000 yards receiving combined in his first three seasons. While he is likely to get paid, and well, McLaurin does not appear OK with waiting another year.
The Commanders could also franchise tag him in 2023, but at a cost north of $20 million.
Meanwhile, the move leaves Wentz to work through camp without his best weapon on the field. Wentz already has an uphill battle and now will have zero reps to develop a chemistry with his No. 1 wideout.
Ironically, the Commanders trading for Wentz leaves them with very limited cap space left to make a deal with McLaurin this offseason. According to OverTheCap, the Commanders have less than $13 million in cap space left to work next offseason.
Wentz will be the most affected player by this move aside from Scary Terry himself. The Commanders are hoping that Wentz can take McLaurin’s game to the superstar level this year after a strong 2021 season despite inconsistent QB play.
And while I have serious doubts about Wentz's future in the NFL, he can make McLaurin better. That is, if he ever shows up to camp.