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John Keim
ASHBURN, Va. — As soon as the contract extension for Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin was reported, the question began: Who won?
In the reaction to determine which side — McLaurin or the Commanders — ultimately made concessions or misplayed their hand during the negotiations, the real victors from Monday’s agreement are quarterback Jayden Daniels, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end Zach Ertz and everyone else on the roster.
Over his six NFL seasons, McLaurin had become the “heartbeat” of the offense, providing energy, emotion and passion for the unit, one former Washington assistant coach told ESPN recently, and the receiver was routinely voted a team captain.
For those reasons, the coach said, the deal needed to get done.
The real money on McLaurin’s new deal won’t be known until the three-year extension is filed with the league and the total guarantees and true breakdown are known. For now, the headline is that McLaurin received a nice per-year average number, and the total contract is worth “up to” $96 million over three years, according to sources.
It could be discovered in the next few days that the team got the deal it wanted. So, saying which side won or lost in this situation is premature and will ultimately become irrelevant.
What matters now is that Washington can enter its Sept. 7 opener against the New York Giants feeling good and with its best receiver in tow.
Following its best season in decades, Washington could not afford to enter the 2025 campaign with the contract impasse hanging over them. The negotiations had already dominated headlines, beginning with McLaurin expressing his frustration in a 30-minute news conference July 15, failing to report to camp a week later, then holding out the first four days — and being fined $200,000 — before becoming a hold-in and requesting a trade, which, multiple team sources said, was not a surprise to the organization.
Meanwhile, on the field, there was growing frustration among members of the offense.
On Aug. 15, Kingsbury expressed his own dissatisfaction with the unit’s performance. The Commanders ranked fifth in points and seventh in yards last season, but their summer was uneven. Daniels looked like himself, as did Samuel and Ertz, but Kingsbury knew what — namely, who — was missing.
“There hasn’t been a ton of contact with him,” Kingsbury said of McLaurin. “He’s been here, but he’s been working with trainers, so until he gets back on the grass, that’s when we’ll start building that back up.
“Until we get some of these other pieces back, we’re not going to know exactly what we are. … That’s something we have to get to over the next three weeks.”
With McLaurin on the field, the pressure on Washington’s other offensive weapons diminishes. Samuel will have more room to operate underneath, giving him the ability to run after the catch and break tackles. Ertz can be more effective when going over the middle as well. The deep ball also will come more into play. Of Daniels’ 46 passes that traveled 20 air yards or more last season, 24 went to McLaurin. Daniels posted a QBR of 88.4 (out of 100) when targeting McLaurin on these routes, with eight completions for 341 yards and three scores.
McLaurin also serves as an offensive catalyst, which is one reason Washington likes getting him the ball early in games. When McLaurin caught three or more passes in the first half last season, Washington was 6-1. Over his career, Washington is 21-23-1 when McLaurin catches three or more passes in the first half. But compare that to its record overall with him: 41-58-1.
That overall record — which had been 29-53-1 before last season’s turnaround — is why leaving Washington never made sense for McLaurin. He had played with 10 different starting quarterbacks before Daniels arrived. Now, he has a quarterback coming off a historic rookie season with 3,568 passing yards and 25 touchdowns along with 891 yards and six scores rushing.
With stability at quarterback and a new contract in hand, McLaurin — a beloved figure by the fan base and for years the only bright spot in Washington because of his production and professionalism — can think about retiring as one of the franchise’s most popular players ever.
So, while declaring a victor for this deal is still important to some, the impact will be felt into the future.
Washington was always concerned about setting a precedent with this deal, knowing it has other key players up for extensions or new deals in 2026 such as Samuel, left tackle Laremy Tunsil, linebacker Frankie Luvu and, possibly, cornerback Marshon Lattimore. That’s why the details, ultimately, will matter.
Other players on the team were highly interested to see McLaurin’s contract resolved, knowing they could be in a similar position soon.
For now, though, Washington’s energy is back. And it happened at just the right time.