For all the talk so far this offseason of the Washington Commanders potentially bringing in any number of elite wide receivers as free agents or who might be available in trades, it’s worth pointing out that the franchise already has one of the NFL’s very best players at the position on the roster in veteran Terry McLaurin.
USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz put McLaurin on his list of NFL players who are top candidates for “massive contract extensions” this offseason after McLaurin earned NFL All-Pro honors for the first time in 2024 and set a franchise single-season record with 13 touchdown receptions.
“McLaurin seems like a sure thing to get an extension this offseason,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote on February 22. “While McLaurin turns 30 in September, he’s as vital as any non-quarterback figure on the team. Between the need to address the lack of any guaranteed money on the final year of his current deal and the benefit to Washington of reducing his $25.5 million cap hit, there’s ample motivation to reach an agreement. Doing so quickly would help the Commanders get out ahead of a receiver market that only seems to be growing exponentially.”
McLaurin is headed into the final season of the 3-year, $68.6 million contract extension he signed in June 2022. The Commanders are projected to have approximately $100 million in salary cap space in 2025 and expected to be big players in free agency.
No Reason to Chase Names in Free Agency
Players like Tee Higgins, Stefon Diggs, Amari Cooper and Diontae Johnson are all going to be free agents, with Higgins being the likely top prize among that group — a player that could command a contract in the range of a 4-year, $100 million deal.
The Commanders also don’t probably need to aim so high as to bring in a player like Higgins because they already have a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver option in McLaurin, who earned NFL All-Pro honors for the first time in 2024 with 82 receptions for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns as Washington advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.
McLaurin isn’t just one of the NFL’s best wide receivers, he’s also one of the most durable. The former third round pick out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL draft has only missed 3 games in 6 seasons and hasn’t missed a game since 2020 — starting 97 out of a possible 100 career games.
According to Spotrac, McLaurin’s projected value currently sits at a 3-year, $82.4 million contract extension — something that would ostensibly keep him in Washington through the end of his career.
Commanders Can Add WRs in Free Agency, Draft
After McLaurin’s extension, the Commanders might put an impetus on bringing back tight end Zach Ertz, who was playing on a 1-year contract in 2024 and ended up second on the team behind McLaurin in receiving yards.
After that, there is going to be plenty of talent available in free agency who are more financially feasible. Possibly a player like Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Commanders could also add wide receivers in the later rounds of the draft — they selected Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey in the third round in 2024.
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