The Washington Commanders, fresh off making it to the NFC Championship Game last season, could have a huge problem on their hands as their top wide receiver, Terry McLaurin, has grown frustrated with his current contract situation.
The two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver is looking for a long-term deal from the team and the lack of movement in that department led to McLaurin leaving the team’s voluntary workouts this week and it remains unclear if he will report for mandatory minicamp.
This has led to speculation that the Commanders could instead look to trade him.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report put together some deals that the Commanders ‘couldn’t refuse’ and one of those features the Los Angeles Chargers. Here’s the deal that Knox put together:
Chargers receive: WR Terry McLaurin, 2026 3rd-round pick
Commanders receive: 2026 2nd-round pick, 2026 4th-round pick, WR Quentin Johnston
Commanders Get: 2026 2nd-round pick, 2026 4th-round pick, WR Quentin Johnston
“The Los Angeles Chargers are a more obvious trade candidate for a receiver. While L.A. did bring back Mike Williams and use a second-round pick on Tre Harris, receiver depth was one of the team’s biggest issues in 2024.
Ladd McConkey was great as a rookie, but 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston has yet to become a dependable target for Justin Herbert. Josh Palmer finished third on the team with 584 receiving yards but is now a member of the Buffalo Bills.
Williams missed most of 2023 with a torn ACL and had just 298 yards with the Steelers and New York Jets last season.
McLaurin would walk into L.A. as Herbert’s top perimeter target and would instantly elevate the passing game. For a team looking to leapfrog the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West and make a deep postseason push, that would be huge.
And like the Cardinals ($40.9 million), the Chargers should have the cap space ($27.9 million) needed to work out a long-term extension with McLaurin.
Los Angeles could send Johnston to Washington in the deal. While the TCU product hasn’t played up to his draft status yet (1,142 yards in two seasons), he has intriguing upside, is only 23 years old and is starting to adapt to the NFL game”, wrote Knox.
This would be a tremendous deal for the Chargers. Though they would give up second and fourth-round picks in next year’s draft, they would get a third from the Commanders. In addition, McLaurin would be a huge upgrade over Johnston.
Johnston had his moments last year as he caught eight touchdown passes but he still struggles with drops and doesn’t gain separation down the field nearly as often as a first-round pick should.
McLaurin is coming off the best year of his career as he caught 82 passes for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns. Some of that can be attributed to the high level of play of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, McLaurin could find a soft landing spot in L.A. with one of the top arms in the league in Justin Herbert.
It would be a bit of a shock to see the Commanders, a team expected to have a wide-open championship window, trade their best wide receiver. But the business side of the NFL sometimes forces teams to make moves just like this one.
It is definitely a situation to keep tabs on. If a trade were to take place, the Chargers could be a legitimate option to be the team that lands him.
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