Terry McLaurin Has Spoken And He Is Not Happy With The Commanders Attempts (Or Lack Thereof) to Sign Him Long-Term

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Terry McLaurin notes. Newsy presser with reporters:

- Has not heard from Commanders on his contract in over a month.

- Frustrated/ disappointed with where talks were when they broke off 

- Does not feel valued or appreciated

- Has been in touch with many teammates; has their support.

- Referenced market being set and wanting to be paid what he deserves.

- Says he hasn’t considered a trade yet but he wants to be valued and it takes two parties to get a deal done.

This is getting dicey. Dicier and dicier by the day. There's no two ways about it- it absolutely sucks. Terry McLaurin has been the heart and soul of this organization since the day he was drafted. He put up with Snyder and Ron Rivera's bullshit for years and has remained loyal to the franchise no matter what. He finally got a QB in Jayden and with one year left on his deal he wants to be paid like an elite WR. The issue, however, is the team isn't so sure he deserves that money. It's not because they don't love Terry too, but Adam Peters isn't so sure about paying a soon-to-be 30 year old WR top 5 WR money. And that's what Terry wants. So suffice to say, things are not good right now between Terry and the Commanders.

So that is the summary. Here are my thoughts- I understand Adam Peters not bringing emotions into it. I get his job is to look at the Excel spreadsheet and not worry about how Terry has bought a house in the area, just got married, etc. But I think he needs to add a "Terry is the heart and soul of the team" column to the spreadsheet and see what it says. You need to add a human element to the algorithm. Sometimes you pay a guy a little more because of what he means to the fans, the franchise, the locker room, and the community. There are little things that don't show up in the box score that you need to factor in. Maybe Peters does do this and Terry is still asking for too much, but I hope it's at least being factored into the equation.

Guys like Terry don't come along too often. He makes Jayden better. He makes the other WRs better. He makes Washington a destination for free agents. He signs every autograph, attends every charity event, and works hard every single day. I completely get the football/business side of it. I get Adam Peters is in a very tough situation. You can't pay a guy for what he's done compared to what you expect him to do. But you also can't treat Terry McLaurin disrespectfully. And on the other hand, McLaurin has to understand his age is a huge determining factor and all of the analytics show he won't be worth $40 mil/year in 2 years. 

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I think the solution (easier said here than done) is overpay a bit right now for a shorter deal. You need Terry for Jayden's development, and also to show loyalty to players. I'm sure Adam Peters et al understand it, but they also need to realize not every player is the same. Not every player is just a name and number on a spreadsheet.

I trust Peters to figure all of this out. I understand the frustrations and wants/needs of both parties. But for the love of god, I need them to get this deal done. I don't envy the Commanders' side of this, and I don't love that Terry wants $40 million a year for 3 or 4 years, but I trust both sides can meet somewhere in the middle. Maybe 2 years, $40 mil a year? Just please, please, please get ink to paper before week 1.