Commanders just torched their own leverage in Terry McLaurin standoff

Josh Harris, Adam Peters and the Washington Commanders can thank their lucky stars that Jerry Jones runs the Dallas Cowboys. Thanks to the ongoing Micah Parsons snafu in Dallas, football fans are able to forget about Washington's own ongoing contract dispute. Terry McLaurin still has not signed a new deal — and he has requested a trade, too. And yet, the Commanders continue to let this standoff fester.

Unlike Parsons, who made the fateful error of letting his agent lead negotiations (read with sarcasm), the McLaurin holdout is a bit more traditional. He wants more money than the Commanders are currently willing to pay him. That sounds a bit silly at first glance, as McLaurin is a staple of the organization, a fan favorite and one of the most productive wideouts in franchise history. But he's also 30 and the Commanders are plainly worried about how a long-term deal will age.

Washington is attempting to maintain leverage in these negotiations. Most of these trade requests get resolved without an actual trade, but McLaurin won't budge until the Commanders pony up. Unfortunately, Washington's social media team did not receive the memo. Posts like this won't help the Comms keep McLaurin's price down.

Commanders celebrate Terry McLaurin's NFL Top 100 ranking mid-trade request

NFL.com's annual Top 100 rankings slot McLaurin at No. 52, an appropriate recognition of his sustained greatness at wide receiver. He has five straight seasons with 1,000-plus receiving yards and six straight with 900-plus yards to start his career. McLaurin has been available and productive for pretty much his entire career so far. The lulls in impact are few and far between.

A lot of those successful campaigns came with mediocre quarterbacks on mediocre teams. Now Washington has an ascendant superstar in Jayden Daniels, who looked like an MVP-level franchise pillar over the second half of 2024. To kneecap what has the chance to be one of the NFL's most explosive offensive teams by not re-upping McLaurin would be pure madness.

And yet, the Commanders continue to play hardball. Personally, I'd suggest not to promote how highly he is ranked among his peers while trying to underpay him, but I don't make the big bucks in the front office, so who am I to say anything?

Commanders need to settle Terry McLaurin conflict sooner than later

We are well into training camp now and there is no hint of a resolution for McLaurin and the Commanders. That needs to change, ideally as soon as possible. The Commanders cannot afford to lose McLaurin and they know it. He's not getting traded. There aren't ready-made replacements available via trade and the draft is in the rearview mirror. Washington will pay him eventually.

The longer this drags on, the more distracting it becomes. Daniels is only entering his second year at the commands of the offense. Washington has a lot of veteran leadership on the roster, but a younger core with limited postseason experience. Letting Daniels go through camp without his No. 1 target feels futile and unnecessary. It won't change the outcome. Unless the Commanders are sincerely willing to engage in trade talks, haggling over every penny in negotiations is a fruitless effort.

Get him locked up, get the locker room on the same page, and go compete for an NFC East crown and maybe even a Super Bowl. That should be the goal for Washington this season. McLaurin's age is a concern, sure, but he still has a few strong seasons left in the tank. Might as well embrace it and push your chips in.