Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders are at odds and McLaurin’s trade request makes it clear he’s officially over dealing with the Commanders. It’s a shame as productive as his career was in Washington, it’s ended like this. But the fact that the Commanders don’t want to work on a new deal and work with McLaurin at that, well he’ll end up being an asset to another team.
It shouldn’t take long for a team to put together a package to land McLaurin. He’s had at least 1,000 receiving yards in every year except his rookie season. Receivers, even the high end trades lately, haven’t yielded massive returns so it’s a chance he not only lands with a solid team, but it won’t cost much to bring him in.
Here’s who should be pouncing at the chance to land a No. 1 receiver that will instantly improve an offense.
5 teams that should pounce at the chance to trade for Terry McLaurin
New England Patriots
This one seems too obvious, but the New England Patriots adding McLaurin to a receiver room that already has Stefon Diggs would be a problem for the AFC East. Though the Buffalo Bills have run that conference since Tom Brady left, this feels like a really good opportunity for the Patriots to fight for the top spot in the division. With McLaurin they pose a serious threat to the Bills.
It’s no surprise New England needs offensive weapons and while they’re anxiously waiting on who will step up as the No. 1, adding McLaurin in the mix would be a great short term solution to beefing up this offense. It might not work well with both McLaurin and Diggs, but it might be worth it if it won’t cost much to land McLaurin.
Cleveland Browns
This is a long shot, but if the Cleveland Browns could actually land a No. 1 receiver and it’s McLaurin, this offense might have a chance to be respectable. The Browns have had receiver woes for years and Jerry Jeudy, for as good as he is, needs help. McLaurin would actually help this offense in ways it wouldn’t seem possible for this team.
While McLaurin would probably want to land with a contender or at least a team with a shot to reach the playoffs, the Browns could make something shake for McLaurin and give this quarterback room something to work with. Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel will only be as good as the weapons they have.
Right now, they’re few and far between. Adding McLaurin is headed in the right direction. And with a little patience, McLaurin could be worth building around, even if he’s close to 30 years old.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers could use an upgrade at receiver too. Quinten Johnson has been disappointing and Ladd McConkey won’t be able to carry this offense by himself. Giving Justin Herbert a receiver like McLaurin would certainly end their playoff woes. McLaurin is a dangerous threat on any offense. With Herbert, he’d be even more of a problem.
Most of his career in Washington he had subpar quarterbacks. It wasn’t until last year when he got Jayden Daniels that we really saw how lethal he could be. Imagine that with the Chargers.
Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and Terry McLaurin together would be a dangerous combination. If the Detroit Lions thought they were going to miss Johnson after last year’s success, having to face that offense twice this season would haunt the Lions for years. While the Chicago Bears have DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, inserting McLaurin would instantly make this offense scary.
I’m sure in the deal, the Bears would probably have to part ways with Moore to land McLaurin, which is worth it in my opinion. What McLaurin adds to any offense is invaluable. What he’d add to a Ben Johnson offense is lethal.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans turned AJ Brown into Treylon Burks, which was a colossal failure. The only way to make it right would be to give Cam Ward a true No. 1 receiver in McLaurin. The Titans have a lot of work to do before they’re contending in the AFC again. But adding McLaurin is a step in the right direction.
Ward needs weapons to go to, for one, to help alleviate some pressure during his rookie season, but two, because they’re receiver room isn’t great. Because McLaurin hasn’t come out and said he wants to land with a contender, the Titans might have a shot. If McLaurin simply want to go to a team that values him, Tennessee might just be the perfect spot for him.