Commanders predicted to trade star WR to Patriots for 22-TD receiver and 2nd-round pick

With roughly a month before NFL training camps are set to begin, the Washington Commanders and star WR Terry McLaurin still have yet to reach an agreement on a contract extension. 

So far, all reports out of D..C have expressed Washington’s overwhelming desire to ink their top offensive weapon to a new deal, but it’s clear there’s a disagreement between the terms of the contract that have kept this at a standstill. 

It would be an absolute shocker if the Washington Commanders ended up trading McLaurin, who is coming off his best NFL season with more than 1,000 receiving yards (for the fifth-straight year) and a career-high 13 touchdowns. The versatile downfield threat added another three touchdowns in the playoffs and played as critical of a role as Jayden Daniels did when it came to Washington’s improbable run to the NFC Championship game in 2024. 

Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated shed light into the standoff between McLaurin and the Commanders in a recent appearance on 1067. The Fan in D.C.. The NFL insider stated that $30 million per season should be enough to get something worked out, but insinuated the amount of money is what is holding the deal up as of now: 

"If you're Terry McLaurin, you look at it and you're saying don't even come to me with anything that doesn't start with a three [30] per year. I think it's fair for him to ask for something in that range just based on where the market has gone. I think they will eventually get something done” 

Beyond his on-field production, McLaurin is one of the veteran staples and leaders in the locker room. He’s a fan favorite, has never complained despite several seasons of drama and dysfunction and it just wouldn’t make sense for Washington to have made so many moves to bolster the offense this offseason if McLaurin wasn’t in the long-term plan. 

Still, as each day passes without a new deal, speculation about the Commanders trading McLaurin only intensifies. 

Mitchell Milani of Bleacher Report believes that Washington could trade McLaurin to the New England Patriots in exchange for WR Kendrick Bourne and a 2026 second-round pick. 

Kendrick Bourne he’s been a name that I’ve thrown out there for the Patriots to maybe potentially trade this off-season because although he has experience in the Patriots offense,  and he is a good leader, McLaurin would also take that leadership role. 

would take the Patriots from an interesting intriguing breakout team to potentially really like real threat in the AFC East right like the Patriots have spent more money than anybody this off-season they have completely revamp their defense. Their offensive line feature two tackles may expected to take a massive leap year. They added Henderson running back. They’ve already added Diggs and they have one of the best cornerback duos in football with Gonzalez and Davis. Now they have Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels at the helm of this team, completely improving their coaching staff. Terry would actually be pretty scary and this would be the best way to ensure that Drake Maye has a breakout year too because even right now I think a lot of people would still say the Patriots receiving corps is questionable. 

Kendrick would also still be valuable enough for the Commanders to acquire because he’s experienced in a plethora of positions inside outside. He’s a good possession receiver that offers yards after the catch and he’s very experienced in a lot of different systems whether the Josh McDaniels or Kyle Shanahan, I feel like you could find a home and really any team in a depth role so makes sense why the Commanders would still want him on their team. 

While Patriots fans would likely be thrilled to trade Bourne for McLaurin, it’s highly unlikely the Commanders will move their biggest offensive star when all the momentum surrounding the team is trending in the right direction.