Terry McLaurin requests trade: Six teams that could pursue two-time Pro Bowl WR

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Contract negotiations between Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders have not produced the progress the receiver was hoping for, prompting him to request a trade Thursday.

Should Commanders general manager Adam Peters grant the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver’s request, who could McLaurin’s suitors.

Here are six teams that could come calling for the soon-to-be 30-year-old wideout:

  Mike Williams   ‘ surprise retirement resurfaced a problem the Chargers hoped they’d eliminated when they welcomed him back this offseason. Now, their top two options are second-year sensation   Ladd McConkey   and underachieving 2023 first-rounder   Quentin Johnston   . After reaching the playoffs in Jim Harbaugh’s first year, the Chargers will be expected to build on that progress in 2025, a goal that will be much more difficult to reach with only one proven option out wide. A McLaurin trade would move him to a team with deep postseason aspirations and pair him with a magnificent quarterback in   Justin Herbert   . Not to mention, it would place him on a team that has $84 million in cap space to use to account for an extension in 2026. It almost makes too much sense.

The Raiders made two big splashes in the offseason when they traded for   Geno Smith   and drafted   Ashton Jeanty   , filling two massive needs on the offensive side of the ball. The big question mark that followed them from 2024 into 2025 still remains, though: Who will their quarterback target?   Brock Bowers   is already an elite tight end, but outside of   Jakobi Meyers   , Smith doesn’t have much in the way of proven pass catchers out wide. McLaurin would answer this question emphatically. With $37.8 million in current cap space and $99.1 million to work with in 2026, they could easily fit an extension for McLaurin into their books, too.

New York’s transition from the short-lived     Aaron Rodgers     era included the departure of     Davante Adams     (plus     Mike Williams     ‘ in-season trade), leaving New York a little thin at the position. The Jets added     Josh Reynolds     and     Tyler Johnson     in the offseason, but the corps lacks punch on paper entering a season in which     Justin Fields     is taking over and will be expected to produce. Fields has one trusty, big-play receiver in former Ohio State teammate     Garrett Wilson     , and while they didn’t cross paths in Columbus, why not add another former Buckeye in McLaurin? The veteran would immediately give Fields another high-level teammate to target plenty in this new-look offense and raise the Jets’ ceiling. And with Fields on a two-year deal, it would be worth adding a receiver approaching 30 in order to produce instant results.

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The Patriots are currently in the midst of a battle royale for their open receiver jobs.   Stefon Diggs   has returned ahead of schedule and is a full participant in camp, but their partnership might only last a year or two, based on the structure of his contract. The rest of the group is far from settled. Bringing in McLaurin would equip ascending quarterback   Drake Maye   with a proven playmaker and upgrade the entire offense’s potential while also sending McLaurin to a team that would be willing to pay him, judging by how they spent their massive amount of cap space in 2025. It just might not lead to the postseason excitement McLaurin enjoyed last season in Washington.

After a 6-11 season caused — in part — by a number of devastating injuries, the 49ers are feeling the pressure to produce in 2025. They’ve paid    Brock Purdy    , cleared some cap space by trading away    Deebo Samuel    and expect    Christian McCaffrey    to back to his game-breaking self this season. The current state of their receiving corps, however, is giving them cause for concern. Their $30 million-per-year receiver    Brandon Aiyuk    doesn’t have a clear timetable to return from a season-ending knee injury suffered in 2024, leaving them with veteran    Jauan Jennings    and second-year wideout    Ricky Pearsall    as their top two options. McLaurin would fill out the group nicely and buy them plenty of time to be patient with Aiyuk while trotting out a threatening offense. Plus, after San Francisco sent Samuel to Washington to team up with McLaurin, the narrative crafted by a return shipment of McLaurin to the Bay Area would just be too juicy to ignore.

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