Just when I thought the Washington Commanders were in the clear, they reminded once again of what they were under previous ownership. I am not talking about the dysfunction associated with their previous ownership, but rather their inherently cheap nature. I used to joke that they formed The Unholy Triumvirate of NFL Cheapskates with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Cincinnati is still struggling with paying its star players what they are worth in an increasingly digital and forward-facing world. Although the Chargers have calmed down a bit since relocating from San Diego, we all still now that Dean Spanos has it in him to cut corners to save dimes. Unfortunately, we seem to be at a similar crossroads when it comes to Washington. This is all about Terry McLaurin...
New-ish general manager Adam Peters echoed his inner Duke Tobin in an attempt to protect Josh Harris like he is Mike Brown or something. He told ESPN's John Keim the following about McLaurin:
"You're dealing with a really good player and person and you never lose sight of that ... make sure every conversation is straight forward and in good faith ... our goal is to get a long-term deal done. He's a great player and we want to keep him here."
This is not Tobin demanding rookie Shemar Stewart to show up, but actions speak louder than words.
Peters more on McLaurin: "You're dealing with a really good player and person and you never lose sight of that... make sure every conversation is straight forward and in good faith... our goal is to get a long-term deal done. He's a great player and we want to keep him here."
— John Keim (@john_keim) July 22, 2025
How the Bengals are handling Stewart's stalemate and Trey Hendrickson's holdout is what not to do.
Washington Commanders must stop being the Cincinnati Bengals here
What I find so painfully frustrating about these two teams is that they actually have realistic chances of winning a Super Bowl. While I would take teams like Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Kansas City and debatably Buffalo over them to get it done, the Bengals and Commanders have to be in that next group, right? I like their chances of winning it all more so than Green Bay, Houston or even Tampa Bay.
But I guess this is just the nature of the beast when you have a marquee player entering a contract year. While the Stewart stumbling continues to baffle me, I remain on the sides of both Hendrickson and McLaurin on their quests to make more money. They are in the respective primes. Neither were first-round picks coming out of college. Up until this offseason, they have been mostly good soldiers.
The weird part in all this is I have a ton of respect for the jobs Tobin and Peters usually do as front office executives. Tobin normally drafts well and scouts other teams' players phenomenally ahead of free agency, all while having to do with Brown's constant nonsense. As for Peters, he was the latest star to come out of San Francisco's brain trust. He has turned Washington around, but it is not over...
I know Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury can coach, but Peters still has to prove it to me as an NFL GM.