Terry McLaurin’s contract drama with the Washington Commanders is starting to get out of hand. Seeking a $30 million deal, the wideout and the organization remain in a standoff. McLaurin showed how serious he is about the negotiations by not reporting to training camp yesterday. That all but sets up a showdown between the two sides that could last months before being resolved.
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Contract holdouts in July are a lot more common nowadays. But this situation is more unique than past ones. McLaurin is certainly one of the best receivers in football, and we’ve seen big money contracts handed out to those guys all offseason. Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and DK Metcalf, just to name a few.
However, McLaurin is also about to be 30, an age at which players usually begin to decline in their careers. Yet with five straight 1000-yard receiving seasons under his belt, he’s shown no signs of slowing down. Because of this, Washington shouldn’t have a hard time placing a valuation north of $30 million on him.
Amid the uncertainty of McLaurin’s future with the team, NFL analyst Louis Riddick says he’s very concerned about the situation. “I’m a 10 out of 10 concerned,” Riddick stated on First Take.
The former safety knows it’s only July and that there’s still plenty of time to figure things out. But he also believes Jayden Daniels needs to be around his WR1 as much as possible to improve on his rookie season. So, it’s not that time isn’t an issue.
“If you want to make sure that you safeguard that trajectory that [Daniels] is on and you want it to keep going the way that it’s going, then you need to make sure that every day that he can spend with Terry McLaurin, he spends with Terry McLaurin. In a football setting, in your building,” Riddick argued.
McLaurin turned back into “Scary Terry” last season, with Daniels consistently throwing him the ball. Of his 25 passing touchdowns, 12 of them went to the wideout.
Before that, McLaurin’s career high touchdown reception mark was set in his rookie season with 7. We always knew he was a good player, but with Daniels, he looks elite.
.@LRiddickESPN is highly concerned about Terry McLaurin’s absence from training camp pic.twitter.com/JebHAVXatB
— First Take (@FirstTake) July 23, 2025
That’s why Riddick urged the Commanders not to think much about age and money with McLaurin.
“You shouldn’t be haggling over, ‘You know what? How much longer can Terry McLaurin play at this level?’ And nickel and dime this guy to the point where he’s not in camp, and he’s not practicing,” Riddick added.
It’s sound advice coming from the former safety. He’s seen players nickel and dimed by teams firsthand and knows how quickly things can hit the fan. It may not be a big deal that McLaurin isn’t reporting for camp now, but what about when he inevitably looks rusty in Week 1? We actually just saw this play out between Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers.
By the end of his monologue, Riddick warned the Commanders that they are playing with fire, the more they delay signing McLaurin.
“I’m not one of those people who believe that there’s an automatic sophomore slump because people get film on you and people understand what you’re doing. I don’t believe in that crap. I damn sure don’t believe it with Jayden Daniels. But if you keep messing around with the guy who is his dude, and you don’t allow them to continue to grow, you’re playing with fire. Just get him signed.”
Riddick is completely right. The Commanders should be willing to pay up for McLaurin. Even though he’s about to be 30, the star wideout just had a career high in touchdown receptions, and he is one of the longest-tenured players with the team. Doesn’t he deserve to be paid like one of the top dogs in the league?
Furthermore, with Daniels still on his rookie contract, the Commanders shouldn’t feel nervous about overpaying other players. They’re getting away with underpaying one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They need to take advantage of this time.
There’s always time to trade either McLaurin or someone else away later, once Daniels needs to be paid. There’s no reason why Washington should be toying around with their WR1 like this.
