The Washington Commanders' ability to navigate the tense situation with star wide receiver Terry McLaurin will say volumes about the organization, and fans will be eagerly following along. If Friday night's preseason performance by the team sans McLaurin was any indication, the 29-year-old wideout has all the leverage.
Washington was thoroughly pounded by the New England Patriots 48-18, which would indicate the defense needs the most work. But consider the offensive statistics first: The team's top performer in receiving was rookie Ja'Corey Brooks with five catches for a mere 59 yards. Veteran Tay Martin followed him with three receptions for 36 yards. That's simply not going to cut it.
Washington's poor preseason opener performance was exactly what Terry McLaurin needed
Granted, this was a preseason game and starting quarterback Jayden Daniels did not touch the field. Instead, backups Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson got the bulk of snaps against New England.
However, there were starting wide receivers available to both passers like Michael Gallup (2 catches, 27 yards) and Luke McCaffrey (1 catch, -1 yard). There's no doubt, as if there were any before, that McLaurin is the most dangerous weapon Daniels will have when he eventually steps onto the gridiron.
Last season, heading into the playoffs, Daniels and McLaurin had the best passer rating (140.0) among QB-pass catcher duos since Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in 2012 (140.1). That's undeniably the stat the wideout and his representation should be pointing to when they sits back down across from Adam Peters again.
McLaurin requested a trade on July 31 and began "holding in" at training camp when it became obvious the team was not going to pay him what he believed he was worth. It's unlikely he'd get dealt to another team though, especially after the early indications head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters just got from their backups.
The negotiations will drag on, presumably, but McLaurin must feel at least a little bit better about where he stands. Washington can't afford to squander its window with Daniels still on his rookie deal, and their entire offensive attack has been clearly built around McLaurin at the top of the depth chart. Deebo Samuel's addition will help, but he profiled more as the ideal No. 2 to McLaurin's alpha out wide, with guys like Gallup and McCaffrey getting to work as more complementary pieces.
Now, the entire hierarchy is off, and the results were predictably messy. McLaurin has had a clear sense of his own worth throughout this entire saga, and that's been paid off big-time.