Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is the rare modern athlete. Sure, McLaurin is a phenomenal football player who continues to succeed and thrive in the most challenging circumstances.
Last summer, McLaurin signed a three-year extension with Washington, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers. A few months later, McLaurin made his first Pro Bowl after catching 77 passes for a career-high 1,191 yards.
In four NFL seasons, McLaurin has gone over 1,000 yards three times and narrowly missed the 1,000-yard mark during his rookie season when Washington had the NFL’s worst offense.
McLaurin has done all of this with 10 different starting quarterbacks. Think about that. In addition to the quarterback uncertainty, McLaurin hasn’t had a legitimate threat opposite of him until Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson were on the field last season.
After practice this week, McLaurin spoke to the media and was asked about adjusting to another new quarterback.
“Shoot, probably about year two or year three; you know what I mean?” McLaurin said. “I kind of was like, it was a little bit of a turnover at the quarterback position, but at that point, I already had in my mind like, I don’t use that as an excuse as to why I don’t do my job, and I don’t use that as a crutch to be why I’m not making plays or, you know, there’s multiple quarterbacks. So I don’t want to use that as a hindrance as to what dictates my outcome and my performance. Obviously, we know that’s something that factors my position, but I’ve never used it as a crutch.”
What a perfect answer.
In an era where wide receivers go to social media to call out the coaches or quarterback for not getting the ball enough, you’ll never see that from McLaurin. He’s happy to sacrifice his numbers to help the team win. As everyone knows, the more McLaurin touches the football, the better the Commanders are.
As for his new quarterback, McLaurin likes what he sees from Howell.
“We’re all still learning the offense, but one thing about him, he’s not afraid to throw the ball down the field, which is exciting,” McLaurin said of Howell. “He’s gonna give guys a chance to make the play down the field, and he throws a really nice deep ball. So, he’s growing. I like how he’s doing.”
McLaurin also complimented Howell’s ability to shake off negative plays and stay aggressive.
McLaurin and Jonathan Allen are the perfect faces of the franchise for Washington. Incredible football players, even better human beings and both offer the type of leadership you can’t teach.
Here’s predicting another huge season for McLaurin in 2023.