If you rolled up to Ashburn expecting a chill, procedural August, reality hit like a sack the second WR1 turned his contract standoff into the camp’s main storyline. Washington’s offense still clicks when No. 5 is under center, but the receiver room around him? As messy as it gets. And here’s the twist: while Terry McLaurin sits on the sideline tied up in stalled negotiations, a handful of “prove-it” receivers are making just enough noise to make cut-down day interesting. Also showing just how thin things could get if talks don’t progress. And for Dan Quinn? The man’s suffering a headache.
Yes, there are six receivers in the picture. Only 3 (or maximum 4) would make the 53-man roster. The Athletic summed it up pretty well while describing the WR situation. “The good news is Deebo Samuel has had a really good camp… The bad news is Washington doesn’t have anyone else, really.” And yes, that is exactly the case.
Terry McLaurin would’ve been an obvious pick, but the contract drama really puts everything up in the air. And the rest of the group has been… uneven, to put it nicely. Luke McCaffrey “has struggled,” and the unit’s been plagued by “a slew of drops” in the preseason opener and all through camp.
Nicki Jhabvala from The Athletic admits she’s “keeping McCaffrey largely because he was a third-round pick last year.” Meanwhile, Ja’Corey Brooks made some noise with five catches on five targets for a game-high 59 yards against the Patriots. Look at it from an even broader perspective, and the decision gets even harder.
Credits: Imago
Jayden Daniels just had a monster rookie season: 3,568 passing yards, 25 TDs, 9 INTs, 70.6 QBR (4th in the league). And Washington rode that to the NFC Championship. So yeah, every rep without his WR1 cranks the anxiety meter way past red. Deebo Samuel’s presence keeps the floor high after that splash trade in April, and he’s been showing out all summer. But even the shiniest “new toy” can’t fix the roster math if McLaurin’s drama drags on and the depth chart stays all over the place.
Luke McCaffrey is still a developmental gamble, as Nicki said. He’s a 2024 third-round pick, and the depth chart has him behind McLaurin on one side. Meanwhile, K.J. Osborn and Michael Gallup are holding down the veteran spots, and Brooks is trying to turn his preseason spark into a real roster spot. That’s exactly the kind of “keep or cut” headache Dan Quinn didn’t want in mid-August.
And there’s another layer to it. Sam Hartman is fighting for position at the back of the QB room, listed behind Daniels, Mariota, and Josh Johnson. This basically forces the coaches to stock the WR room with Swiss-Army-type players who can run any route for any quarterback. That’s why Brooks keeps his spot with his size-speed juice, while McCaffrey is getting drilled on actually catching the ball when it counts.
But Dan Quinn can only decide that Terry’s contract saga gives us something. And so far? Zero progress.
The Commanders are unwilling to pay McLaurin
The most recent development? Washington doesn’t want to pay him “based on past performance.” That’s a tough pill when your two-time Pro Bowler just racked up 82 catches, 1,096 yards, and 13 TDs in 2024 with a rookie QB, especially someone who has been your safest in the passing game for years.
And this isn’t just about AVV. It’s full-on roster crossroads. Refusing to pay McLaurin what he’s pulling in real-time for Daniels forces Quinn to cast a wide net at WR, which is why the room behind Deebo looks like a mix-and-match experiment instead of a locked-in Week 1 WR1/WR2.
To be fair, Terry McLaurin didn’t help himself either. McLaurin skipping mandatory minicamp? That was always a culture alarm. And that’s every missed rep with Daniels is chemistry you’ll never get back. For a Year-2 QB who threw top-10 TDs with a top-4 QBR last season, the cleanest way to dodge the sophomore slump is rolling with your best weapon on the field, not in a negotiation.
The front office did add Deebo Samuel and beef up the line (hello, Laremy Tunsil) to back Daniels, so they’re not totally punting on 2025. But if the team really won’t “pay for yesterday,” the next move has to be paying for tomorrow. Because every WR decision Quinn makes over the next couple of weeks is being cast in the shadow of a negotiation that, one way or another, sets the trajectory of this season.
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