There’s been some major buzz coming out of the NFC East over the last 24 hours. It started with Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin officially requesting a trade after frustrating contract negotiations. McLaurin is currently in the final year of his three-year, $68.3 million deal signed in 2022. He wants an extension that exceeds $30 million per year, but Washington won’t budge.
McLaurin has been the definition of consistency throughout his time in Washington, posting five consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, while adding in 900+ as a rookie in 2019. The factor that makes this most impressive is the gauntlet of quarterbacks that have thrown to McLaurin over the course of his career. Before Jayden Daniels arrived, Washington had a carousel of quarterbacks every single season.
It’s unlikely that McLaurin is actually dealt, as Washington would be left thin at receiver. They did trade for Deebo Samuel, but outside of that, the outlook is bleak. Still, there’s tons of speculation about which teams should inquire about McLaurin’s services. Bill Barnwell of ESPN listed three teams that would make sense and the last one was shocking.
Barnwell suggested that the Buffalo Bills should make a blockbuster trade for McLaurin.
McLaurin would step in as a legitimate top wideout in an offense that leans heavily toward the pass. The Bills have assembled a variety of options for Allen, and they understandably aren’t ready to give up on Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman, but there’s a reason they traded for Cooper last fall. There’s nobody on this roster Allen can look toward in key spots as someone who is reliably going to get open. And as we saw in that fateful fourth down in the playoff loss to the Chiefs, there’s nobody in this receiving corps whom Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was scared about covering, which allowed the blitz whisperer to send top cornerback Trent McDuffie after Allen on what ended up creating a season-ending pressure for Buffalo.
The rich would get richer in this scenario, as the Bills are obviously one of the top teams in the AFC. Giving Josh Allen a weapon like McLaurin could certainly get them over the hump, which has been the Kansas City Chiefs for the last several seasons. If the Bills were to make this trade, they’d also have to extend McLaurin to a contract worth more than $30 million per season.
It’d be a hefty investment, but one the Bills should consider making.