Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders have hit an impasse. The disgruntled wide receiver now wants to be traded.
If McLaurin truly lands on the trade block, there will be no shortage of suitors. One potential landing spot? The Buffalo Bills.
The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala recently outlined a scenario where Buffalo could make a call for McLaurin, proposing a deal that would send wide receiver Curtis Samuel and a 2026 fifth-round pick to Washington.
“The Bills could certainly use a legitimate No. 1 receiver, but as of right now, only if the right situation arises. McLaurin is a perfect fit for Josh Allen, though McLaurin’s need for a new deal with a cap-strapped team casts some doubt on the pairing. If the Bills could move Samuel’s $6.9 million in guaranteed base salary, along with a Day 3 pick for someone like McLaurin, I could see them talking themselves into it. Samuel, at least, could give the Commanders a player they could start in the interim,” Jhabvala wrote.
Samuel, entering his ninth NFL season, is coming off a year where he started just two games and totaled 253 yards with one touchdown. A trade to Washington would mark his second stint with the team, as he previously played there from 2021-2023.
McLaurin, 29, would likely require a major extension wherever he lands. Spotrac projects his market value at four years, $98 million.
“Considering McLaurin’s age and that the Bills would need to give him a new contract, that creates some leverage,” Jhabvala wrote. “The Bills could conceivably make room for a new deal on their cap with the excavated Samuel cap hit in 2025, using some previously untapped contract restructures, along with backloading McLaurin’s new deal since they can structure it however they want. However, the presence of Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer, and wanting to see what they have in them for a year, may discourage the Bills from even getting involved.”
Coleman and Palmer will need to prove themselves, as neither has ever posted a 1,000-yard season. McLaurin, meanwhile, is coming off his fifth straight 1,000-yard campaign — the kind of proven production Buffalo has lacked since trading Stefon Diggs.
