Commanders GM remains optimistic, but no extension yet for Terry McLaurin as training camp opens

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Anyone looking for a testy rejoinder from the Washington Commanders’ key figures following Terry McLaurin’s candid comments last week about lingering contract extension talks will be disappointed.

The same goes for fans hoping general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn would announce an agreement with the team’s top wide receiver at their pre-training camp news conference on Tuesday.

“In terms of where we’re at, we’ve had conversations recently and we will look to have some more conversations,” Peters said, “and we’re going to do everything we can in order to get a deal done.”

McLaurin, who skipped mandatory minicamp and some voluntary workouts this spring, signed a three-year, $68.2 million extension in 2022 with the Commanders’ previous regime. He is going into the final season of that contract.

The recent surge in receiver spending, including D.K. Metcalf’s five-year, $150 million deal following an offseason trade to Pittsburgh, dropped McLaurin’s annual average salary of $23.2 million to 17th among active players at the position.

As for whether McLaurin joins his teammates at the team facility before the opening practice of camp on Wednesday, Peters said, “Like with all of our players, we’re expecting everybody to be here today.”

Washington’s top receiver since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2019, McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, earned second-team All-Pro recognition last season, with a career-high 13 touchdown receptions and a fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season. He added an additional three touchdowns and 227 yards on 14 catches in three playoff games.

“I don’t know what happens next,” McLaurin said last week. “But without any progressive discussions, it’s kind of hard to see how I step on the field.”

Peters and Quinn stayed positive as they did throughout last season’s magical ride to the NFC championship game.

“We’re planning, like Adam said, for everybody to get here and get rocking,” Quinn said.

McLaurin said the two sides had not spoken over the previous month. In that regard, Peters hinted at some form of progress.

Whether that means momentum toward a multiyear extension in the range of $30 million annually is unclear. Even McLaurin reporting Tuesday doesn’t automatically mean good news if he chooses to hold in, thus avoiding significant daily fines.

“I’ve been pretty frustrated — I’m not gonna lie,” McLaurin said during a 30-minute discussion with reporters last week in Laurel, Maryland, after filming a commercial.

“At the same time, I want to put myself in a position where I’m valued and I feel appreciated and things like that,” McLaurin said. “Unfortunately, that hasn’t transpired the way I wanted it to.”

Beyond production, McLaurin was Washington’s rare shining light during the franchise’s dark times under former owner Dan Snyder. The arrival last year of quarterback Jayden Daniels, along with Peters and Quinn, helped turn the Commanders into a contender.

Daniels’ top target had a hand — two actually — in Washington’s stunning 12-5 regular-season record and the franchise’s first conference title game appearance since 1991.

The GM’s job involves weighing short-term and long-term ramifications of any financial deal. There’s minimal debate over McLaurin’s importance to the team.

“Without a doubt, I think everybody in this building values Terry very much,” Peters said, maintaining a hopeful demeanor. “We knew that coming in, and we knew that even more after spending a year with him.”

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