ASHBURN, Va. — Terry McLaurin reported to the Washington Commanders’ training camp Sunday, ending his contract-related holdout, and was placed on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury, the team announced.
“It was great, and we’re really pumped he’s here,” coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s such an awesome competitor. We had the chance to spend some time together yesterday, so, yeah, great to see.”
McLaurin, 29, is in the final year of a three-year, $68.3 million deal, which places him 17th among all wide receivers in average annual value ($22.7M). Quinn said general manager Adam Peters and other front office personnel continue to work toward a deal with McLaurin and his representation.
McLaurin said he was “disappointed” and “frustrated” about the situation in mid-July and was unsure if he would report to camp. He ended up being absent for the Commanders’ first three practices.
“I’ve been pretty frustrated, I’m not going to lie,” McLaurin said. “Everything that has transpired up to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I want to continue my career here, I’ve created my life here, my wife and I have bought our first home here. So this has been somewhere where I’ve always wanted to be. Just to see how things have played out has been disappointing. Obviously I understand everything is a business, but at the same time I want to put myself in a position where I’m valued and I feel appreciated and things like that. Unfortunately that hasn’t transpired the way I want it to, so I’m just trying to take things day by day.”
Quinn said McLaurin’s ankle injury happened at the end of last season and lingered — something he deemed “not uncommon” — hence McLaurin’s placement on the PUP list.
“We don’t know much today,” Quinn said. “We’ll have to do more follow-up on the medical side and then doing assessments and see where he’s at, so we’ll put a better timeline together once he kind of goes through, see where he feels at. The one thing that we know, we have a really good process for this.”
McLaurin was a second-team All-Pro last season and made his second career Pro Bowl after posting 82 catches for 1,096 yards and a franchise-record 13 touchdowns. After playing alongside a litany of quarterbacks, McLaurin and Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels were two of the catalysts for Washington’s breakthrough 12-5 campaign that included the franchise’s first NFC Championship Game appearance since the 1991 season.