Trade Holdout Terry McLaurin? Washington Commanders Respond to Colts Call
The Washington Commanders are on-record as saying they are strongly opposed to the idea of trading star Terry McLaurin, even as he's holding out of the team's mandatory minicamp as contract extension negotiations move slowly along.
But that does not preclude bidders from making the call.
One report has the Indianapolis Colts inquiring about a trade for McLaurin at some point this offseason.
The Commanders, the report notes, were "firmly against" the idea of a trade, and that matches what Washington coach Ron Rivera reiterated on Tuesday at the opening of this minicamp session.
"We're not going anywhere with Terry,'' Rivera said. "We want Terry to be here."
McLaurin is set to earn $2.79 million with the Commanders this coming season, but is due an extension that times with an explosion in wideout contracts, with $20 million plus APY now the going rate for a star.
It is fair to assume that the 26-year-old McLaurin is acutely aware of this explosion.
McLaurin, a third-round pick in the 2019 draft, put together yet another fine season in 2021. ... even as the Commanders again went through QB changeds. He managed to catch 77 balls for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns, all together marking his second straight 1,000-yard season.
If he misses all three days of mandatory minicamp as expected (he is reportedly in Florida training on his own this week), McLaurin can be fined almost $100,000. More important than that is the fact that he is the No. 1 offensive weapon for new Commanders QB Carson Wentz, and they will benefit from eventually getting on the same page.
But as long as they're not? Rivera and his staff, if they are true to their word, will have to answer "no'' on more phone calls.
