Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

“I Don’t Get the Sense That Anything’s Close” – NFL Insider on Terry McLaurin’s Stalled Contract Talks With the Commanders

The Terry McLaurin Contract saga just won't end

Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL offseason has seen plenty of drama with free agent signings, players getting released, and trades taking place. Amidst all this, the usual contract extensions also take their course, and while many players have signed new contracts, there are still a select few waiting for the right deal.

Take, for example, Micah Parsons and the Cowboys, or Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals, or Terry McLaurin and the Commanders. Here, we will take a brief look at where the Commanders stand with respect to the pending contract extension of their top receiver, Terry McLaurin.

From holdout to apparent hold in: Commanders WR Terry McLaurin was spotted at the team’s training facility Saturday, per sources. McLaurin arrived without a new deal but with some sort of ankle injury. Washington now is expected to place McLaurin on the Active/Physically Unable… pic.twitter.com/K4lKhQXnxi
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2025

Terry McLaurin’s Current Contract Status

Commanders WR1, Terry McLaurin, has been waiting for a contract extension throughout the 2025 offseason. After signing a three-year deal in 2022, McLaurin is now heading into the final year of his contract.

It is believed that both the concerned parties are far off from reaching common ground, and that has been the case for a long time now. As a matter of fact, McLaurin was a no-show at the team’s OTA sessions and minicamp earlier in the year, and even held out for the initial days of the Commanders’ training camp.

"Respectfully, just pay him."

—Commanders Ring-of-Fame WR Santana Moss on Terry McLaurin's contract situation 👀 pic.twitter.com/6rDoAhguRm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 27, 2025

Although the 29-year-old has yet to sign his extension, he is back with the team at the Commanders’ training camp but not taking the field. In this way, McLaurin now avoids being fined $50,000 for each day he misses the camp.

However, he still remains away from the field and isn’t taking part in any sessions. That said, the question now is what is the latest update on McLaurin’s extension?

Adam Schefter Provides Update on the Terry McLaurin Contract Saga

As per ESPN’s NFL insider, Adam Schefter, who was a guest on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’, the Commanders and McLaurin are still far away from reaching an agreement over his extension. When asked about his opinion on Steelers’ receiver DK Metcalf and his extension compared to McLaurin’s status as both players are from the same draft class, Schefter had the following to say.

“It’s vast. So it’s up to the two sides to figure out a way to bridge their differences. But I would say that DK Metcalf was the same draft class as Terry McLaurin. He got about $33 million a year. I wouldn’t think that Terry is willing to take less than that, and I think he wants considerably more than that.”

Taking a close look at the overall stats put up by both McLaurin and Metcalf, the Commanders’ receiver would be well within his rights to demand a similar amount of money as his Steelers counterpart.

Wow: Terry McLaurin is looking for "Considerably more" money than DK Metcalf, which would make him a Top 3 highest-paid WR in the NFL.

1) Ja'Marr Chase ($161M)
2) Justin Jefferson ($140M)
3) CeeDee Lamb ($136M)
4) DK Metcalf ($132M)

Is Scary Terry worth the money? 🤔

(h/t… pic.twitter.com/2NMCTQB9IP
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 29, 2025

Interestingly, McLaurin’s production has been slightly better over the past few years as compared to Metcalf’s. However, the belief is that the Commanders want to extend their star player and value him a great deal, but just not at the price he is holding out for.

“Washington, you know, they’re not there right now. And they love and value Terry McLaurin, but they love and value him at a different price. I don’t get the sense that anything’s close.”

"It's up to the two sides to figure out a way to bridge their differences..

As of today I don't get the sense that anything is close" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive https://t.co/U6r6OJSwZS pic.twitter.com/qsYb91b598
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 28, 2025

As this contract saga drags on, it will be interesting to see what happens once the regular season starts. Will both parties be able to meet on common ground, or will McLaurin continue to wait for the figure he wants? And if no deal takes place, will he play in the upcoming season or threaten to sit out the year as Trey Hendrickson is willing to do?

Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!