Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders are trying to build on their best season since 1991 — when they won Super Bowl XXVI — but they’re currently doing so without an integral part of their offense: star wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who requested a trade earlier this week as he seeks an extension.
Washington’s head coach provided his perspective on McLaurin’s situation with the franchise.
“Sometimes, those are the emotions and that’s the human side of it,” Quinn said about McLaurin on Saturday morning, according to NFL.com. “Knowing there can be emotions, that’s the ones he attached to at that moment. For me, as the coach, give the support, give the insights, do you want advice? That’s the way that you do it. But it is an emotional time. It’s so damn important and each player, it won’t be quite the same in how that’s happening.
“I just try to not judge it as best I can, and it’s not always that easy to do knowing it’s an emotional time. Our times together are intense for different reasons. Sometimes it’s the competitive intensity. Other times, it’s something like this where you’re just, ‘ahh,’ and you’re feeling some kind of way. So, I just try to make sure, man, support the players as best I can knowing they’re accessing emotions that are hard.”
While saying that he hopes McLaurin is “practicing soon,” Quinn also said the Commanders “love Terry” and that he doesn’t view the situation as a “distraction.” McLaurin is present at training camp but not taking part in practice.
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Last season, McLaurin totaled 82 receptions for 1,096 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns, leading the Commanders in all three categories. He then racked up 14 receptions for 227 yards and three touchdowns across Washington’s three playoff games. McLaurin ranked 20th among wide receivers with a 79.2 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
McLaurin, a two-time Pro Bowler, has logged 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of the past five seasons, averaging 76.7 receptions for 1,063.2 yards per season across his six-year career (2019-24). As for his franchise standing, McLaurin is fifth in Washington history with 460 receptions, sixth with 6,379 receiving yards and eighth with 38 receiving touchdowns.
McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, is entering the final season of a three-year, $68.4 million deal. On the wide receiver front, superstar Ja’Marr Chase signed a four-year, $161 million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals in March, while Garrett Wilson signed a four-year, $130 million extension with the New York Jets in July.
Quinn is entering his second season as Washington’s head coach after posting a 12-5 record in 2024, tripling the team’s 2023 win total (4-13) and reaching the NFC Championship Game with 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year and quarterback Jayden Daniels leading the way.
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