What does Rick “Doc” Walker think of the Terry McLaurin/Commanders contract standoff?
On Thursday, Walker, hosting “The Hoffman Show” in place of regular host Craig Hoffman, weighed in on the McLaurin situation.
Walker mentioned the way he hears the media covering the McLaurin holdout:
“Hey, Terry does everything you ask. He’s as close to perfect as possible. Why wouldn’t you embrace him? Terry’s on time. Terry does everything right. Terry is like the mascot of your organization. So, why would you leave him hanging like this?”
Sure enough, the typical Commanders fan on social media and the radio has overwhelmingly been responding, “Just pay the man. Just pay Terry.”
Oh, that life were that simplistic. There is so much more to this than the “just pay him” mindset.
Did Peters pay McLaurin for his 2024 season? He certainly did, honoring the contract between the two parties. What’s more, won’t Peters keep his side of the contract and pay McLaurin for the 2025 season? Again, most certainly.
A contract is an agreement between two parties that outlines specific terms. The Commanders are adhering to the terms they agreed upon. But is McLaurin? Many of McLaurin’s teammates do not have a contract for 2026, but they do for 2025, and they are in camp, keeping the terms of the contract they signed. But is Terry keeping his terms for which he committed and signed for 2025?
The fans are saying, “Just pay him,” when it is just as true that it could be reported that McLaurin is breaking his contract obligations for 2025 and is thus fairly being fined. Speaking of which, Walker offered, “I don’t get the $50K days, when you could have just gone in and say ‘I am tight.'” That is, your status is a “hold in” rather than a “hold out.”
“They (Peters and GM staff) have to run the whole thing. And no one person (player) with the exception of JD5 (Jayden Daniels) is ever going to threaten that. Because AP can’t do his job if he feels like he can be held hostage by any player, other than his quarterback. I’m just going by how he (Peters) has done his business. If you can find somebody he paid before camp, just show me.”
“He (Terry) is doing this (holdout) with such confidence. But it is always a game of chicken. Somebody is bluffing, and somebody is for real. This is why I said two days ago, ‘Terry, call Indy (Colts) and see if they want homeboy. You have to be willing to pull up and get out of here. If you believe in yourself at that level, because talk is cheap.”
How does “Doc” Walker feel about Terry’s 32-minute press conference last week? “Big mistake.”
Walker also warned his listeners that this is not going to be the only case of this, especially if this team wins. “I don’t think it will ever be totally behind you. “The better you get, the more people want.”
The Commanders’ stance is this is not personal vs McLaurin, but business. To which Walker responded, “A lot of people don’t understand what business means. It means, save your crying towel, we are not interested in that. This is Economics, period, 101. If you are that bad of a bad ass, pack your bag and hit the open (market)… Oh, I forgot you are under contract.”