NEWSLETTER
If you were a high-end NFL receiver looking to get paid this offseason, there is a good chance you were able to successfully cash in.
And perhaps feeling left out after seeing his contemporaries get mega-millions, Washington’s Terry McLaurin is taking a stand. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has details:
Before free agency took off, Mike Williams and Chris Godwin side-stepped the Franchise Tag while getting multi-year deals. Davante Adams got his from Vegas after a trade out of Green Bay. Ditto for Tyreek Hill, who secured the bag from the Dolphins after the Chiefs sent him packing in a deal. A.J. Brown went from Nashville to Philly in a trade that led to a long-term extension. Stefon Diggs and Cooper Kupp are getting new paper from their teams with offseason deals. And we don’t need to spend any more time than we already have exploring Christian Kirk and Allen Robinson II getting bank in free agency.
So, uh, yeah … I think it is easy to understand why McLaurin would go down that road in his search for new paper.
But not everyone has gotten their cash. For instance, we have Deebo Samuel requesting a trade earlier in the offseason. Then there is D.K. Metcalf, who didn’t show up to mandatory minicamp in Seattle because contract talks have yet to yield a desirable contract extension worth signing. And now McLaurin is joining suit like Metcalf. As was the case with Metcalf, whose situation bears watching from a Bears perspective, we should be keeping tabs on McLaurin’s situation. Does it seem like a long-shot? Absolutely. But in an era of unrivaled player empowerment and movement, it is important to note who is, was, and could be available on the market. I doubt the Raiders, Dolphins, and Eagles began March thinking they’d be employing Adams, Hill, and Brown in June. But here we are!
After all, if the NFL hasn’t conditioned us to expect the unexpected on the field, this offseason will do its part to drive it home.
McLaurin, 26, has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons with 1,000-yard years in each of those campaigns. In fact, McLaurin has gained at least 900 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons. Impressive stuff, especially when considering he was catching passes from Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, Garrett Gilbert, and (briefly) Ryan Fitzpatrick. In other words, not only has McLaurin proven worthy of a hefty extension, he might be on that short-list of pass-catchers who might be QB-proof.
So … yeah, let’s keep eyes on this one.
