Terry McLaurin—the most prolific touchdown scorer in Washington Commanders history—still has not agreed to a contract extension with less than three weeks until training camp.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on Monday that McLaurin, who will turn 30 in September, and the Commanders are “not close” to an agreement that would keep the reigning All-Pro in D.C. after his contract runs out at the end of the year. McLaurin is only due $18.8 million during the upcoming season as part of a three-year extension that averaged $23.2 million annually.
NFL insider Lake Lewis Jr. said on the VTRN Sports Lynchburg podcast that he believes McLaurin is seeking a contract worth $36-37 million in average annual value. That would make him the second-highest-paid receiver in the NFL behind the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase.
“There’s no update, which is the update,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday. “There really is quite a difference and a gap between what both sides would want, and they have not made any progress.”
McLaurin did not report to mandatory minicamp earlier in June, just as he didn’t during his previous contract negotiations. However, he recently appeared at several engagement opportunities, including a CSA Shows event in Chantilly, Virginia over the weekend.
The Commanders’ star led the team with 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards last year, along with his franchise-record 13 regular-season touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown in every game of the postseason en route to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
McLaurin was vital in the development of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Even with the arrival of trade acquisition Deebo Samuel, the Commanders’ pass-catching corps would be significantly weaker without a starting-level X receiver.
“Terry is a fantastic teammate and really puts in the work and spent a lot of time with [his teammates] already this offseason,” Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn said earlier in June before a minicamp practice. “The business side of things, [General Manager Adam Peters] and their crew and Terry and his group, let them work through that.”
Teams have recently traded several high-profile receivers. The Pittsburgh Steelers sent George Pickens and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for 2026 third- and 2027 seventh-round picks shortly after they acquired D.K. Metcalf and a 2025 sixth-round pick for 2025 second- and 2025 seventh-round picks from the Seattle Seahawks. The New York Jets also gave a 2025 third-round pick that could’ve become a second-round pick for Davante Adams back in Oct. 2024.
McLaurin outperformed all of those players and is coming off the best season of his career, suggesting he’d require more compensation in a trade package.
Overthecap.com has a trade evaluator tool that utilizes the Fitzgerald-Spielberger Evaluation, which translates players and picks to monetary values.
According to its calculations, the New England Patriots’ fourth pick in the 2025 Draft (pre-draft value) and 2026 second-round pick would roughly equal the average annual value of McLaurin’s current contract.
A team in need of receiver help such as the Denver Broncos could get near $30 million in estimated value if they traded newly-signed safety Talanoa Hufanga and 2026 first- and 2027 second-round picks.
ESPN’s Matt Miller on Monday predicted there will be three receivers taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft: Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, Clemson’s Antonio Williams, and Washington’s Denzel Boston.
There’s still plenty of time for McLaurin and the Commanders to come to terms – however, every missed practice limits his opportunities to fine-tune his chemistry with his quarterback, as well as new arrivals such as Samuel and rookies Jaylin Lane and Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
The Commanders have $21.3 million in free cap space in 2025, which is right in the middle of the league at 16th.
