When the Washington Commanders took the field for the first day of training camp on Wednesday, the veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin was noticeably absent. Jayden Daniels was going through his first session without his top target on the field.
McLaurin’s absence was expected. Throughout the offseason, the veteran wide receiver has made it clear that he wants an extension as he heads into the final season of his current contract.
Back in the spring, McLaurin decided to remove himself from OTAs, and missed mandatory minicamp. On Wednesday, the Commanders confirmed that he was not with the team for the start of training camp. For Jayden Daniels, he’s kept in contact with McLaurin, operating as if holding out wasn’t the case for McLaurin.
“I would talk to Terry like if he was here, just checking up on him, at the end of the day, that’s just a relationship that we have on and off the field,” Daniels told reporters on Wednesday.
“This is just business in the NFL. You know, we know Terry’s working. We don’t really have to worry about him doing any of that, but at the end of the day, he’s still one of our brothers.”
Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Training camp is an important time for quarterbacks to get timing down with their wideouts. While there isn’t necessarily a positive spin on McLaurin’s absence, Daniels at least sees the benefit in knowing he had an entire season to work with McLaurin, and has already learned how to play with the speedy wideout.
“It helps out a lot [we worked together last year],” Daniels added. “If this was last year, probably different because we didn’t know each other. Now, we have a whole year under our belt, and just the relationship we built on and off the field. We don’t really have egos when it comes to our relationship with each other, so it’s going to be seamless. I know Terry’s working, though.”
In Daniels’ eyes, the young quarterback believes that the idea of McLaurin missing practice would hurt the team’s chemistry is “an overstated thing.” Based on what they accomplished together last year, and the connection they’ve build over the past year, Daniels is confident the QB-WR duo won’t take a hit.
“Obviously, me and Terry got a very good relationship, and that’s just the business of the NFL and stuff like that,” the quarterback finished. “Whenever the time comes and he’s back out on the field, I don’t think we’ll miss a beat.”
So far, the Commanders don’t seem close to getting a deal done with McLaurin. Perhaps his absence from training camp will be the first move in expediting the negotiation process. Despite Daniels’ confidence in the situation, Washington has to understand that getting McLaurin back on the field before the situation becomes a distraction is key to keeping more drama out of the Commanders’ facility.
Since McLaurin joined the team in 2019, he’s been one of the most consistent wide receivers in the NFL. He exceeded 1,000 yards and scored a career-high 13 touchdowns with Daniels throwing him the ball last season. The duo was strong, and the Commanders should be doing what they can to keep them together.
For more Washington Commanders and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports
About the Author
