Terry McLaurin has made a name for himself in his three years in the NFL after being the 76th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Today he reached an agreement on an extension with the Washington Commanders. His new contract is for three years worth $71 million including a $28 million signing bonus.
The former Ohio State wide receiver posted 77 catches for 1,053 yards and 5 touchdowns last season with Taylor Heinicke, Garret Gilbert and Ryan Fitzpatrick as his starting QBs. This season McLaurin will be given the chance to play with Carson Wentz. The former MVP candidate is the best starting quarterback he has had in his NFL career. Wentz posted 3,563 yards for 27 TDs with only 7 Interceptions last year for the Indianapolis Colts and had 2nd year Wide Receiver Michael Pittman JR looking like a star.
Terry McLaurin has had a very productive career in the NFL
Since entering the league in 2019, Terry McLaruin has posted the 13th most receiving yards amongst wide receivers with 3,090. All of the wide receivers ahead of him have had the luxury of playing with better quarterbacks. He will finally get the opportunity to play with a skilled quarterback this season foreshadowing an improvement in his numbers.
An eventful offseason for wide receivers
The wide receiver market has been a hot commodity this off season with McLaurin being the 8th star wide receiver to get an extension. McLaurin notched the 6th largest wide receiver contract this off season. Only Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J Brown, Stefon Diggs, and Cooper Kupp received larger contracts. (All had more receiving yards since 2019 besides A.J Brown)
McLaurin skipped voluntary OTAs and mandatory mini-camp due to not having a contract extension. Since they came to an agreement today, he will now report to mini-camp this week looking to build chemistry with his new and improved quarterback, Carson Wentz.
The Commanders also drafted Penn State’s star wide receiver Jahan Dotson with the 16th pick in this years draft to take some of the pressure off McLaurin. In 12 games Dotson posted 91 catches for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior year at Penn State. Dotson will accompany McLaurin perfectly, preventing him from being double teamed frequently like he has been in previous seasons.
Conclusion
The Commanders offense should increasingly improve compared to last year where they were 22nd in passing yards per game and 23rd in points per game with Terry McLaurin leading the way. The Commanders will look for McLaurin to put up massive numbers for years to come.
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