NFL: Commanders’ Wide Receiver Terry McLaurin “Pretty Frustrated” With Contract Talks
"Everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating," he said.
The Washington Commanders’ number-one wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, recently told reporters that he has been “frustrated” with how contract negotiations have gone with the organization. McLaurin, who is scheduled to have a $25.5 million cap hit this season, will become an unrestricted free agent next off-season.
“I’ve been pretty frustrated, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “Everything that has transpired up until this point has been disappointing and frustrating.”
The 2024-25 campaign was arguably the best season of. McLaurin’s career. He caught 82 passes for 1,096 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, almost double his previous career-high of seven.
“I want to continue my career here. I’ve created my life here. My wife and I bought our first home here,” McLaurin said. “This has been somewhere I’ve always wanted to be.”
Terry McLaurin- I’m pretty frustrated, not going to lie pic.twitter.com/YdCdP9d6Dk
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) July 15, 2025
Frankly, the Commanders have had a hard time getting McLaurin to show up for the team amidst these contract talks. He already sat out during minicamp and made it clear he does not want to be traded.
“There has to be some active discussions – we haven’t talked in a month, and it’s becoming crunch time,” he said. “You want to be in a position to be building towards what we did last year on the field, so this is definitely disappointing. I don’t know what happens next.”
Unsurprisingly, McLaurin’s feelings about his average annual value might have changed after the New York Jets gave wide receiver Garrett Wilson a four-year, $130 million extension. Considering McLaurin has been Washington’s top wide receiver for several years, he explained that he feels that he should be compensated similarly to Wilson.
“Garrett Wilson deserves what he was paid – I know I’m biased being a Buckeye, but he brings a lot to his team, and they compensated as such,” McLaurin said. “I can’t speculate on how that affects me, but the top wide receivers are compensated in today’s NFL, and I feel I’m a WR1.”
Initial reaction from @BMitchandFinlay in the wake of Terry speaking: ‘I think people are going to freak out, but that wasn’t good.’ pic.twitter.com/TLIHWGxVRz
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) July 15, 2025
As for what’s next in these contract negotiations, McLaurin has hinted at possibly sitting out of training camp and the preseason in order to get a deal done. Although he remains noncommittal to any type of holdout.
“I haven’t decided that yet,” McLaurin explained. “I’m trying to take things day by day. I think that’s the disappointing part, where I was hoping up until this point that things would clear up more than they have. I haven’t made that decision yet. I just want to see how the rest of this week goes and take it day by day from there.”
Whatever the management team decides, McLaurin will be fine with it. He just hopes that the team comes to a decision quickly.