Terry McLaurin missed training camp and the entire preseason amid a contract squabble with the Washington Commanders, but with a new $96 million deal, he’s working overtime to get ready for Week 1.
Head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that McLaurin “absolutely” has enough time to be part of the plan for Washington in the regular-season opener against the Giants.
General manager Adam Peters said McLaurin and wide receiver Noah Brown are still day-to-day. Peters was unwilling to guess whether McLaurin might be on the field for Week 1, but he did smile and publicly apologize to Quinn for allowing a holdout situation to stretch into training camp.
“What we never lost was our love, respect and admiration for Terry and what he does on and off the field,” Peters said.
McLaurin practiced Wednesday for the first time in August, which included two weeks on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury.
“I love coaching him. He’s a rare competitor,” Quinn said.
The five-time 1,000-yard receiver was due to make $22.8 million in the final season of his previous three-year extension signed in 2022, but he opted to attend practice and preseason games as a non-participant while the Commanders negotiated with agents Buddy Baker and Anthony Bonagura.
McLaurin missed the start of training camp and was subject to fines of $50,000 per day and $200,000 in total. He had already been fined more than $100,000 for missing a mandatory June minicamp.
The $32 million average annual value of McLaurin’s new deal is tied for sixth among NFL wideouts with A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles, per Spotrac. Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase leads the pack at $40.25 million.