At this point, it doesn’t seem unfair to think the Washington Commanders might be headed toward a miniature fire sale.
Nothing like the Miami Dolphins underwent last season — the Commanders aren’t in a situation where they should have to take on much dead cap space — but they can only do it if they cut bait sooner rather than later.
Topping the list of dubious assets are highly paid, mostly underperforming veteran stars in defensive tackle Daron Payne and wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Because McLaurin has the bigger contract — he’s on a 3-year, $97 million contract extension — he’s gotta be 1st to go.
The NFC has 1 perfect team for him: the San Francisco 49ers, who have $47 million in cap space remaining and have seen their wide receiver room decimated by injuries. They’re also 2-0 and a Super Bowl contender.
For the Commanders, it’s probably worth asking for a 3rd-round pick and a 6th-round pick for McLaurin and expecting to get that back in return — valuable assets for the quick rebuild they’ll likely undergo this offseason.
All of This Starts With 1 Player: QB Jayden Daniels
We will find out exactly how expendable McLaurin is when we find out exactly how long star quarterback Jayden Daniels is out of the lineup after suffering a dislocated elbow in a Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Daniels and McLaurin were brilliant together during Daniels’ rookie season in 2024 — McLaurin’s only All-Pro season — but haven’t really been on the field since then.
Daniels and McLaurin missed a critical offseason of work together before the 2025 season thanks to a bitter contract dispute between McLaurin and the front office. That was followed by Daniels missing 10 regular-season games due to injuries and McLaurin missing a career-high 7 games.
The Commanders are 0-2 to start the 2026 season and already seem dead in the water — Daniels has already been ruled out for Week 3 against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks
Buzz Points Toward McLaurin Leaving Town
NFL insider Matthew Berry predicted 2026 will be the last season for McLaurin with the Commanders.
“The (Commanders) will look to add to the wide receiver room with an emphasis on speed and don’t be surprised if 2026 is Terry McLaurin’s last year with the team,” Berry wrote on Monday. “To that end, one source told me that while almost everyone expects Washington to go defense in the first round this year, if the top three edge guys are all gone by No. 7, don’t be surprised if the Commanders take (Ohio State wide receiver) Carnell Tate.”
Commanders Wire’s Ivan Lambert put McLaurin on blast in his 2025 season postmortem, calling the highly-paid veteran the “Most Disappointing Player” on the roster after he missed a career-high 7 games due to injuries and had career lows of 38 receptions for 582 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“(McLaurin) wasn’t in touch with reality, asked for entirely too much money, then called a press conference to make the Commanders look like the bad guys,” Lambert wrote. “He was holding out, then holding in, and as a result, he wasn’t ready for the season, finishing with only 38 receptions and three touchdowns.”
San Francisco 49ers Trade Pitch Lands $97 Million NFL All-Pro WR