Terry McLaurin's contract dispute has dragged into training camp.
The receiver did not report for the Commanders' conditioning test on Tuesday as he seeks a new contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
McLaurin's absence from the start of camp is not surprising. He told reporters on July 15 that he's "been pretty frustrated" with the state of his contract talks with Washington, adding "everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I want to continue my career here."
So far, the two sides evidently have not made enough progress to convince McLaurin to show up.
McLaurin is entering the final year of a three-year, $68.2 million extension he signed with Washington in 2022, a deal that pales in comparison to some of his counterparts at the receiver position across the NFL. He isn't even the highest-paid receiver on his own team; offseason acquisition Deebo Samuel makes $650,000 more per year than McLaurin, per Over The Cap.
With five straight seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards -- a feat achieved despite playing with a different primary starting quarterback in each of those campaigns -- and coming off a year in which he finished second in receiving touchdowns (13) behind only triple crown winner Ja'Marr Chase (17), McLaurin has reason to demand a new deal. He's led the Commanders in receptions and receiving yards in each of his first six seasons -- outgaining the next closest teammate by 375 or more yards in each season -- yet he's scheduled to make just $15.5 million in base salary with only $2.8 million guaranteed for 2025.
Chase, meanwhile, leads all receivers with a deal that will pay him an average of $40.25 million per year.
McLaurin's place in Washington's offense is essential. He built quite a rapport with quarterback Jayden Daniels in 2024, finishing with the second-highest passer rating among quarterback-receiver duos (130.4) in the NFL.
McLaurin also has zero financial security beyond 2025, and with just $2.8 million guaranteed, playing under the existing deal is a risk in itself.
McLaurin's teammates understand why he's standing firm on the matter. Tight end Zach Ertz recently told reporters he'd prefer to avoid commenting on the matter, but hoped McLaurin "gets paid as much as he wants to get paid."
Plenty of work is left to be done to make that happen, though. As McLaurin said a week ago, "it's becoming a little bit of crunch time."
