‘There was frustration, there was unknown’ – Terry McLaurin reveals the truth about his contract negotiations with the Commanders
Terry McLaurin shined light on the contract negotiations with the Commanders.
The Washington Commanders finally reached an agreement on a contract extension with All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin on Monday, and the details of the contract and the negotiations have come out as well.
McLaurin spoke with the media for the first time on Wednesday after his first practice with the team since signing his new deal, and he opened up about the exhausting process.
Dealing with the unknown
As the player, you’re having discussions about how you feel and what you believe you deserve, but ultimately, you don’t know what the team will decide about your fate, and how much they feel like you should earn. That was the hardest part of the process for McLaurin, but he grew so much through it.
“I grew a lot during this process,” McLaurin told the media. “Personally and in my faith, having my wife by my side as well, we grew during this season of pruning and sometimes uncertainty. . .to be in a position where there was a little bit of uncertainty, there was frustration, there was unknown but again, my faith really helped me get through this process of just knowing that God’s continually worked it out in my life since I first picked up a football.”
The truth about a bold move
The whole process was far more negative than many people expected it to be, including McLaurin speaking out against the team back in July and subsequently issuing a trade request. McLaurin shines a light on the difficult decision to make that request.
“Obviously, the trade request was something that I did,” McLaurin added. “And full transparency, I told the front office this as well, that wasn’t something that I was doing for just a leverage point or just to do it, or let me call some hoopla. I try to be as intentional as possible. Am I perfect? No, I’m not. Are there some things that you think about that you maybe want to handle differently or do better? Sure, that’s any situation.”
This move was kind of expected as the process dragged on through the summer, but ultimately, everyone knew McLaurin wasn’t going anywhere, and a deal would get done like it did.
The relief of getting a deal done
Everyone wanted McLaurin to stay for the long haul, including McLaurin himself, and a deal was reached, and the stress was over.
“It’s a sense of gratitude first and foremost, to be able to, again, continue to play in a place that I love
to play where I’ve been my entire career. The handshake was just a finality. It’s like you sow seeds
and at a certain point you get to reap a harvest, and through the ups and the downs, you get to the
end and you have a deal with the team that you want to have a deal with.”
McLaurin wasn’t the only one happy to get a deal done, as he was greeted with a ton of support from his teammates when the news came out.
McLaurin wanted to be back on the field, the fans wanted him out there, and his teammates surely wanted to practice with him again. With the regular season quickly approaching, now it’s time to put it all in the past and focus on getting to the Super Bowl.
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