Terry McLaurin For Deebo Samuel: Would Commanders Make Blockbuster Trade?
Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel have a lot in common.
Both players are talented wide receivers heading into their fourth NFL season looking for a new contract.
While Deebo Samuel has played his hand a little more forcefully with the San Francisco 49ers, publicly demanding a trade, Terry McLaurin has been a little more meticulous in his approach, simply not showing up to this week's mandatory minicamp for the Washington Commanders.
With both wideouts unhappy with their current situation, it leads to the question: why not make a trade?
It's certainly something the Commanders should think about considering the fact that they cannot allow McLaurin to simply walk away in future free agency for nothing or risk making him any more unhappy.
Samuel seems past the point of no return for the Niners, who would likely open the conversation between the two teams.
Adding Samuel would be an exciting move for the Commanders, but the team should do everything in its power to keep McLaurin.
McLaurin doesn't want to leave Washington; he just wants to be paid for what he's worth. He's caught for over 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and has earned his spot as one of the league's best receivers.
It is worth noting that A.J. Brown, another fourth-year wideout, faced a similar conundrum earlier this offseason. However, the Tennessee Titans folded early in the process and traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles on draft night. Brown then went on to sign a four-year, $100 million extension.
That's around the same range McLaurin and Samuel should get in free agency. Their agents are probably using that as a baseline for the extensions.
But McLaurin doesn't need to suffer the same fate Brown did. The two sides are discussing extending McLaurin and making him the highest-paid Commander on the team.
However, if this back-and-forth persists through training camp next month, discovering a trade to get a star in return is something worth exploring.
