The Washington Commanders were skipping happily along the offseason sidewalk, feeling great about the shrewd work they’d done so far this year. And all of a sudden, they were T-boned by a speeding McLaren. Well, in this case, it’s a McLaurin — Terry McLaurin.
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The wideout, who had 13 TDs last year as he earned Second-Team All-Pro honors, officially requested a trade on Thursday. Apparently, negotiations between the player and the team were not progressing and starting to get contentious. If he successfully forces a trade, it would be a big blow for the team. But an even bigger blow for Jayden Daniels.
He may be the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, but Daniels is still just 24 years old and developing. And McLaurin was a huge part of that rookie season success anyway. He was targeted 117 times, good for a 23.2 target share. Losing a guy who he targeted on a quarter of his passes next year would be trouble. At this point, Stephen A. Smith thinks Daniels should take matters into his own hands.
“Even though he’s entering his second year, you shouldn’t have a problem with the quarterback speaking up for him. … ‘I’m the face of the franchise, I’m the star, this is what we’ve built. We were just in the NFC Championship Game. I’m a young brother growing. And this is a vet that helped me immensely. And he’s produced and he hasn’t missed a game in four years.'”
“Even though he’s entering his second year, you shouldn’t have a problem with the quarterback speaking up for [Terry McLaurin].”
—@stephenasmith explains why Jayden Daniels should speak up for Terry McLaurin pic.twitter.com/IX8pWeZqHj
— First Take (@FirstTake) August 1, 2025
Smith went on to compare the McLaurin-Daniels situation to the Steph Curry-Draymond Green one in the NBA. By Smith’s thinking, Curry is able to do his thing without worrying about outside distractions because Green absorbs all of that stuff.
We’re not sure we’d agree that Green brings less distractions to Curry. If anything, his antics seem to cause the greatest shooter ever much undue stress and aggravation. Further, McLaurin is not like Green at all. He’s a consummate pro from whom no one has heard until these contract negotiations. He’s never punched a teammate in the face.
Nonetheless, his ability to reliably produce week in and week out does reduce the pressure on a young QB like Daniels.
“This is a brother I can rely upon, I can trust, not just to produce on the field, but to help take a lot of pressure off of me in the locker room. You got a cat in that locker room that plays that wide receiver spot that’s a high-end producer, that takes all that additional pressure off of him. Which is why Jayden Daniels might be wise to whisper in the organization’s ear and say, ‘Yo ya’ll, you need to take care of this.'”
A more apt comparison Smith could have made would be with Joe Burrow. The Cincinnati Bengals’ front office seemed unsure about paying Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins. So Burrow threw caution to the wind and basically told Cincinnati to get those deals done. He didn’t threaten them or anything, just applied a bit of pressure. It was clear what the message was.
Two days into the new league year, the team got both deals done on the same day. Cincy signed Chase to a record four-year, $161 million deal, the most ever for a wideout. Higgins, meanwhile, who had been making the most noise about his deal, got the best contract ever for a clear WR2 with a four-year, $115 million pact.
Terry McLaurin obviously won’t be asking for Chase money, but he’ll certainly want more than Higgins, considering he is the WR1 on what many expect to be a top-five offense in 2025.
Daniels may not need to say anything, but it couldn’t hurt to give his front office a nudge and let them know what their franchise player thinks of the situation. On that, at least, we can agree with Stephen A.
