Courtland Sutton’s contract extension with the Denver Broncos in July was believed to have price Terry McLaurin hundreds of thousands in his negotiations with the Washington Commanders.
Nevertheless, he might have added hundreds of thousands again after the Commanders’ first preseason sport.
Per The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala, McLaurin gained leverage after the New England Patriots’ 48-18 beatdown of Washington on Friday evening.
“Nonetheless, he had probably the most effective evening of any participant on Friday,” Jhabvala wrote of McLaurin. “Whereas McLaurin initially appeared to have minimal leverage as he sought a brand new deal — he has a 12 months left on his present contract and can quickly flip 30, an age when receivers begin to have a dip in manufacturing and an uptick in accidents — he has one clear bargaining chip now: The Commanders’ lack of depth and top-tier expertise at receiver…
“Even with extra reps, a pacesetter has but to face out from the remainder of Washington’s receiving corps. And their efficiency on Friday wasn’t fairly.”
Within the blowout loss, the Commanders’ receivers mirrored how they’ve carried out throughout the preseason, and it’s a troubling signal earlier than Week 1.
With anticipated starters McLaurin, Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown out, key depth items like Luke McCaffrey, Chris Moore and Okay.J. Osborn mixed for 3 catches for 13 yards.
Dropped passes and poor route working didn’t assist quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman transfer the ball towards the Patriots.
Rookie undrafted free agent Ja’Corey Brooks led Washington in receiving with 5 catches for 59 yards.
The Commanders want McLaurin on the sphere this season, and so they want him to achieve chemistry with quarterback Jayden Daniels as quickly as potential within the preseason.
Washington must chunk the bullet and discover a method to finish McLaurin’s holdout, even when it means paying him considerably more cash than the Broncos gave Sutton.
