The 2025 Free Agency Thread

[SkinsFTW]

It is outrageous but look at how the Eagles just doubled down on Barkley when he was already signed and he's due for disappointment. I guess players are just going to try to get more because players are getting paid left and right.

 

[HTTR]

Joel Corry from CBS Sports (former agent) was on Kevin Sheehan‘s podcast and had a lot of interesting insight.

Like a lot of us he sees Terry falling between 30–33 per year with at least 60 guaranteed. DK Metcalf being the closest comp, and definitely more than Higgins, but less than Lamb. Nothing really new there, but he does a good job breaking it down with a lot of detail. He does think Terry’s agent will realize this and lower his demands to get the deal done before training camp.

He also thinks they should strongly consider extending Tunsil ASAP. It’s going to be super expensive regardless, but a lot worse if they wait. This makes a lot of sense to me, since we will want to pay as much of that contract as we can while Jayden is still on his rookie deal. And of course it is critical to lock up his blindside protector.

Agrees with a lot of you that the Bengals screwed up royally, and should have prioritized Hendrickson over Higgins. Wonders why “assistant GM“ Joe Burrow didn’t stick his neck out for Hendrickson the way he did with Tee.

 

[SkinsFTW]

I'd wait and see after a year of Tunsil.

He's not Trent Williams.

But they may feel confident. They get to watch the game tape.

It's just interesting how that guy got shipped out, not once, but twice, and lead the league in offsides on a playoff team with a franchise QB.

 

[Phantvm]

Don’t forget there is Deebo and Lattimore too. Getting even just two done after this season,(including if we wait on Tunsil), certainly adds a deeper level of complication for Jayden after the 26 season.

You will also have Quan, Mikey, and Coleman with no 5th Year options available to think about too. Luvu, Biadasz also will be entering the last year of their deals too after this season.

Lots of contract hurdles ahead with key players.

 

[Chris]

1st world problems.

 

[Conn]

1st world problems.

Right. We didn’t have players worth re-signing for a long time. It’s a nice problem to have.

 

[Simeon]

Don’t forget there is Deebo and Lattimore too. Getting even just two done after this season,(including if we wait on Tunsil), certainly adds a deeper level of complication for Jayden after the 26 season.

You will also have Quan, Mikey, and Coleman with no 5th Year options available to think about too. Luvu, Biadasz also will be entering the last year of their deals too after this season.

Lots of contract hurdles ahead with key players.

I guess I am skeptical of extending Deebo and Daron for the same reason; they both played lights out during their last contract year and regressed to good-but-not-great after they got paid. Lattimore concerns me more for his injury history than his competitiveness. We shall see.


I do trust AP to put together this and other info he sees that we do not and make the best decision for the 2026 team.

 

[Bulldog]

Is Adam Peters’ ultimate strategy to develop Conerly and move him to LT?

One thing we saw in organizations Peters grew up with in New England and SF - these teams always negotiated down to the last minute to get the ‘right’ deal.

These were not clubs that just went out and set the market for signing players as a matter of course.

 

[Riggo44]

Don’t forget there is Deebo and Lattimore too.

I hope both ball out this year and then we let them both walk. Deebo screams contract year production.

Actually, think we have Lattimore one more year, not guaranteed.

 

[Riggo44]

It is outrageous but look at how the Eagles just doubled down on Barkley when he was already signed and he's due for disappointment. I guess players are just going to try to get more because players are getting paid left and right.

From what I understand this was a Laurie move. This is something I am very interested in watching. History isn’t kind to 28+ yr old running backs with almost 500 touches in a season.

 

[prodigy]

The $37 million number may be made up but not by us. Athlon Sports named an insider who cited that number and called Terry’s demand outrageous. It was posted recently, but here’s a direct link:

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/washington-commanders/washington-commanders-terry-mclaurin-37-million-contract-demand-called-outrageous-by-insider

based on how well this front office has done in keeping things from getting outside the organization I am inclined to believe this "insider" is a nobody. to further confirm I googled this Mike Fisher:

"There are two prominent figures named Mike Fisher: one is a former Dallas Cowboys insider and sports journalist, and the other is a former NHL player. The Mike Fisher you're likely thinking of is the sports journalist, also known as "Fish," who has been covering the Dallas Cowboys since 1990 and is a well-known figure in Dallas sports media. He's an award-winning journalist, TV analyst, and radio talk show personality, and is the publisher of CowboysSI.com and DallasBasketball.com. "

i am more inclined to believe the former NHL player is more of an insider than this clown.

 

[Faithful Fan]

based on how well this front office has done in keeping things from getting outside the organization I am inclined to believe this "insider" is a nobody. to further confirm I googled this Mike Fisher:

"There are two prominent figures named Mike Fisher: one is a former Dallas Cowboys insider and sports journalist, and the other is a former NHL player. The Mike Fisher you're likely thinking of is the sports journalist, also known as "Fish," who has been covering the Dallas Cowboys since 1990 and is a well-known figure in Dallas sports media. He's an award-winning journalist, TV analyst, and radio talk show personality, and is the publisher of CowboysSI.com and DallasBasketball.com. "

i am more inclined to believe the former NHL player is more of an insider than this clown.

The article is a little unclear, and I don’t know if he’s much better, but they cite Lake Lewis as the source of the $37 million figure.

But the latest from Commanders insider Lake Lewis has that number juiced up to a total of as much as $37 million per year as Lewis mentioned on VTRN Sports Lynchburg Podcast.

And this is where we tap the brakes.

At least he’s a Washington analyst.

 

[prodigy]

The article is a little unclear, and I don’t know if he’s much better, but they cite Lake Lewis as the source of the $37 million figure. At least he’s a Washington analyst.

fair enough, but I still question what the basis for his $37 million figure is. if that number is actually somewhat valid, imo, it's logical if that is what the agent is asking for as the starting point to negotiate down from. I can't see any knowledgable agent having that figure as the intended target for the contract.

 

[Phantvm]

According to a reliable insider on hogs haven I think the number is legit. Doesn’t mean that’s what he gets paid. It’s all a negotiation.

 

[Boone]

I mean, a reasonable offer is to get McLaurin to that 30 million mark, with a big chunk of it guaranteed, and lots of incentive bonuses so that if he does take his play up to a top 5 level over the next couple of seasons, he gets a ton more. Maybe Terry is playing hardball this go round since this likely will be his last chance at bigtime $$$.

He's been a pretty stalwart motivated employee and probably feels that should be a major factor in his next deal - whereas Peters is likely more focused on what's left in the tank and paying value for whatever they feel that is.

Said all along, I think conventional wisdom that 'of course they will ultimately get a deal worked out' may not prove to be correct. I could see it going south - it happens all the time in every business relationship.

 

[HTTR]

If 37 is the actual demand, then I can see why the deal hasn’t been done. Perhaps they’re coming up with that number based on annual salary escalation as what he may be worth a year or two from now. Because otherwise it’s absurd for 30 year old Terry to ask for more money than cd lamb and Jefferson.
33 is more than reasonable. That’s what I think they should go to as a final offer, and if he doesn’t take it, I have to assume a few more dollars is more important to him than playing with Jayden Daniels. And I wish him luck trying to find someone who will give it to him. I realize we have cap space to burn at the moment, but that’s not going to last for long. Yes, Terry has additional value to the team aside from his production, but to me, that’s already baked in to the numbers we are talking.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Is Lake Lewis an insider? I thought he was a fan account that tried to "break news", but maybe I'm thinking of someone else. Hmm...I probably am thinking of someone else.

Yup, he's an actual reporter.

 

[Bulldog]

I would not look to extend Deebo and Lattimore at this point. Although we gave up draft picks for them they will both be 30 by the end of the season.

If we pay McLaurin at 30 in the range of $30-33M a year we really have no business extending Deebo at a exponentially higher rate than he is now earning heading into 2026.

We need to continue to mix veterans in with draft picks and younger free agents.

I agree we should look to extend Tunsil. 30 for a left tackle is not old and unlike Deebo and Lattimore played up to his usual standard last season.

But other than Laremy and Terry, I would look to only sign long-term younger players that are going to be around for the next 3-5 years helping Daniels win games.

I personally like the Deebo trade. A #5 pick for a plug and play veteran is not much to give up and his guaranteed cap number for 2025 is not that high if he is productive.

But again at 29/30, I am not looking to extend him unless he forms a unique bond with Daniels during the 2025 season and he becomes a must have player.

The way I look at Deebo is he is going to make the catches and run the plays they originally thought Sinnott was going to as the 'Swiss Army Knife' of the offense.

Deebo's acquisition makes me think that Peters has his doubts Sinnott is going to be ready to do that even in Year 2 here.

Well, if Daniels becomes one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Newton is a starter, Sainristil is a starter, Coleman is a starter and we get something out of McCaffrey as a depth receiver and/or returner that is a very, very good return on the 2024 draft.

Sinnott in that analysis would be the potential bust pick.

No team goes through a 9 player draft and comes up with 9 winners.

 

[prodigy]

I mean, a reasonable offer is to get McLaurin to that 30 million mark, with a big chunk of it guaranteed, and lots of incentive bonuses so that if he does take his play up to a top 5 level over the next couple of seasons, he gets a ton more. Maybe Terry is playing hardball this go round since this likely will be his last chance at bigtime $$$.

He's been a pretty stalwart motivated employee and probably feels that should be a major factor in his next deal - whereas Peters is likely more focused on what's left in the tank and paying value for whatever they feel that is.

Said all along, I think conventional wisdom that 'of course they will ultimately get a deal worked out' may not prove to be correct. I could see it going south - it happens all the time in every business relationship.

I don't think 30 million is the reasonable mark. 33 to 34 is probably the right mark to put him above DK metcalf. if you think 30 million is the right price, we will lose Terry imo.

edit: if people think trading terry and extending Deebo is the right move, I question your intelligence. deebo is 29 now (4 months difference between him and Terry). there is no reality in the multiverse where it makes sense to extend Deebo (hoping he exceeds Terry) and letting Terry go (Boone, i'm not saying you are saying this, i'm just highlighting a point). as a receiver, there is no comparison between Deebo and Terry.

 

[Boone]

I didn’t mean to imply 30 mill was some hard and fast max, but it’s closer to what his value is than 37 million. And I think it’s more than possible he won’t sign.