Terry McLaurin, Players Who NFL Teams Must Extend Before Training Camp

While OTAs are going on and mandatory minicamps are just around the corner, we’re approaching a lull in the NFL schedule. There’s plenty of downtime in the weeks between spring practices and the start of training camp, where the league’s biggest news stories are often contract extensions.

Here, we’ll dive into a handful of players who are in the last year of their contracts and should be a priority for their respective teams to extend.

Beyond why each guy is deserving of a new deal ahead of training camp, any news or rumors on a contract extension and what other notable players the team has at the respective positions will also be covered.

Terry McLaurin

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Ever since being a third-round pick six years ago, all McLaurin has done for the Washington Commanders is produce. 

He’s currently on a five-year streak of logging over 75 catches and 1,000 yards, with his rookie season being the lone campaign he didn’t cross those thresholds. But even in that season, the Ohio State product still put up good numbers with 58 receptions, 918 yards and seven touchdowns in a career-low 14 games.

To be fair, the organization has already acknowledged that the two-time Pro Bowler brings a lot to the table, signing him to a three-year, $68.2 million contract extension in 2022. However, his deal is almost up again, and it’s time for the new ownership group to open up its checkbook.

Other Commanders WRs: Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown, K.J. Osborn, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane

Trading for Samuel gave the Commanders’ wide receiver corps the boost it needed as he’ll be a quality No. 2 option. However, the former 49er is also in a contract year, so his presence shouldn’t impact McLaurin’s extension much, if at all. A similar statement can be made for Osborn.

As far as the returning wide receivers go, Brown was the most productive of the bunch last season.

But he had just 43 catches for 453 yards last season. Meanwhile, McCaffrey underperformed as a rookie and projects as more of a “slot-only” type of pass-catcher, not bringing nearly the amount of versatility that McLaurin does.

Contract News: According to The Washington Post, McLaurin and the Commanders began extension talks in March.

General manager Adam Peters was even quoted saying, “We want to make Terry a Commander for a long time.” However, no deal has been agreed to, and Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported that the wideout wasn’t at practice on Wednesday, May 21. 

Zach Allen

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden nicknamed last year’s Denver Broncos defense the “Anonymous Crush”.

That was an ode to the Broncos’ stingy unit in the 70s, the “Orange Crush”, while simultaneously acknowledging that the 2024 crew lacked big names, outside of cornerback Pat Surtain II, but was still one of the best defenses in the league by ranking third in points allowed.

No individual player represented that lack of recognition in relation to talent more than Allen.

The six-year veteran has racked up 259 total tackles, 25 sacks and 44 tackles for loss in his career–and that’s with only playing in four games as a rookie–but has never been named to a Pro Bowl roster. Granted, his 61 tackles, eight sacks and 15 TFL in 2024 were enough to earn a second-team All-Pro bid.

While a good portion of the production above was during his four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, Allen has been even better in Denver and is a well-rounded player in the trenches, putting him in line for a second contract with the club.

Other Broncos DLs: D.J. Jones, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, Sai’vion Jones

The organization could be deciding between extending Franklin-Myers and Allen, since both players’ contracts are up at the end of the year.

But the latter is the superior defensive lineman and a year younger, turning just 28 years old in August. Meanwhile, Sai’vion Jones is likely the long-term replacement option for whichever of the two starters doesn’t receive an extension.

As for D.J. Jones and Roach, they’re role players who shouldn’t stand in the way of Allen getting a new deal.

Contract News: In March, it was reported that the defensive tackle is seeking around $25 million per year for his new contract.

According to Over the Cap, that figure would make him the NFL’s fourth-highest paid interior defender, right behind Milton Williams, who inked a $26 million per year deal with the New England Patriots this spring.

Beyond that, there has been little to no news about Allen’s contract extension.

Trey Smith

AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann

To a certain extent, the Kansas City Chiefs have already acknowledged Smith’s worth. His rookie contract expired this offseason, so the organization placed the franchise tag on him.

A one-year salary of about $23.4 million makes the 2021 sixth-round pick the highest-paid guard in the league on a dollar-per-year basis, according to Over the Cap.

While that’s a hefty price tag, the soon-to-be 26-year-old is worth it as he’s become one of the better players at the position and very consistent in Kansas City, never earning an overall grade from Pro Football Focus below the 70s in four seasons. Now, it’s time for the club to give him a long-term deal.

Other Chiefs Gs: Kingsley Suamataia, C.J. Hanson, Mike Caliendo

It’s pretty simple, there isn’t a guard on the Chiefs’ roster who is even close to Smith’s caliber. Suamataia is switching positions after struggling at left tackle as a rookie, and Hanson and Caliendo are young backups.

Contract News: Placing the franchise tag on Smith was, essentially, just to buy the Chiefs exclusive negotiation rights and more time to agree on a contract extension.

The two parties are actively negotiating a new deal, and general manager Brett Veach said that they’d “like to get Trey locked up" at some point after the draft, via NFL Media’s Kevin Patra.

So, it seems like just a matter of time until news breaks that a long-term deal gets done. They have until July 15, the franchise tag deadline. 

Trey Hendrickson

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

To be honest, listing Hendrickson kind of feels like taking the low-hanging fruit since his contract has been a storyline for over a year now.

But it’s hard to argue that the reigning sack leader doesn’t deserve a raise, especially since he’s on the last year of what came out to a five-year, $81 million contract after signing an extension in 2023.

Since the four-time Pro Bowler originally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021, he’s racked up the third-most sacks in the NFL with 57, trailing only Myles Garrett (60) and T.J. Watt (58.5), per StatMuse. 

Garrett just became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at $40 million per year, and Watt is the seventh-highest-paid edge-rusher at about $28 million per year. 

Meanwhile, Hendrickson ranks 11th and will make $21 million this fall. So, he has a pretty strong case that he’s earned a pay bump, and Cincinnati doesn’t have much leverage considering its other options at the position.

Other Bengals DEs: Shemar Stewart, Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy

The defense is thin at defensive end after Sam Hubbard retired this offseason, as the three players above have combined for 12.5 career sacks and three starts, with Ossai accounting for 9.5 of the sacks and all three starts.

Granted, Stewart is a rookie and has plenty of upside, but he was notably unproductive in college and may need some time to develop. Murphy, a former first-round pick, is talented but has struggled to get on the field so far, making him a gamble to rely on. 

That leaves Ossai, who has the most experience of the bunch and is coming off the most productive year of his career.

However, to put into perspective how significant of a contributor Hendrickson is to the Bengals’ defense, Ossai’s five sacks were the second most on the team, yet 12.5 fewer than the first-team All-Pro’s figure. The latter’s 17.5 sacks accounted for nearly half the unit’s total (36).

Contract News: It appears that contract talks have gotten ugly between the two sides.

Recently, the defensive end told the media that the organization hasn’t been in contact with him after the draft, and negotiations have gotten “personal”, via ESPN’s Ben Baby. Hendrickson also added that he won’t play on the current deal, and it doesn’t sound like a resolution is in the works.

Courtland Sutton

AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan

Courtland Sutton doesn’t get a ton of recognition with just one Pro Bowl appearance in seven years, but he’s been a consistent producer for the Denver Broncos ever since getting drafted by the club.

The 2018 second-round pick has recorded at least 700 receiving yards in every season that he’s played in more than one game, the lone outlier being when he tore an ACL in the 2020 season opener.

What’s even more impressive about that run is that the wideout has put up numbers year after year despite shaky quarterback play.

The Broncos finally seemed to find an answer under center last season in rookie Bo Nix, and unsurprisingly, Sutton posted his best stat line since his Pro Bowl campaign with 81 catches for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns.

Clearly, the 29-year-old who turns 30 in October isn’t slowing down and is worth a second contract extension from the club.

Other Broncos WRs: Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant

It’s pretty clear that Sutton is the No. 1 receiver in Denver. Not only did the figures above all lead the team in 2024, but his receptions and yardage numbers were double what any other wide receiver produced. Mims ranked second with 503 yards and six touchdowns, while Vele was next up in receptions with 41. 

With that significant of a drop-off, the front office would be wise to lock up the offense’s top pass catcher for the foreseeable future. 

Contract News: Despite having some controversy around this time last year, it seems as if the Broncos and Sutton are making headway toward an extension. On April 12, he told The Denver Post that his representatives and the club have had “really good conversations” and the two sides are “heading in the right direction”. 

The wideout also added: “I'm open and optimistic about the fact that I'll be able to be here for the rest of my career,” providing more optimism that a new contract should be coming soon.

Tyler Linderbaum

AP Photo/ Jeffrey T. Barnes

Since getting drafted by the club four years ago, Tyler Linderbaum has been a consistent presence in the middle of the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line.

He’s only missed two games in three seasons and has participated in 100 percent, 94 percent and 99 percent of the team’s offensive snaps during the three respective campaigns, per Pro Football Reference. 

On top of that, the 2021 first-round pick has never posted a full-season grade from Pro Football Focus below 74, finishing 2024 as PFF’s fifth-highest-graded center (78.1) during the regular season.

Additionally, he hasn’t allowed a sack in the last two years while ranking fourth and sixth with run-blocking marks of 82.5 and 78.7, respectively.

That made it a bit of a surprise at first glance when the Ravens declined the 25-year-old’s fifth-year option.

However, the option would have been $5.4 million more than the current highest-paid center in the league, and general manager Eric DeCosta said the club intends to get a long-term deal done with Linderbaum, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.

Other Ravens Cs: Nick Samac, Darrian Dalcourt, Garrett Dellinger, Ben Cleveland

Part of the reason Baltimore should extend its starting center is that the team doesn’t have many options behind him.

Samac, a 2024 seventh-round pick, and Dalcourt, a 2024 undrafted free agent, have yet to record a snap in the regular season. Meanwhile, Dellinger, a 2025 seventh-rounder, and Cleveland are guards who can snap the ball in a pinch rather than legitimate centers.

Contract News: As mentioned above, the Ravens want to get an extension with Linderbaum done.

"While we will not apply the fifth-year option to Tyler Linderbaum, it is our intention for him to remain a Baltimore Raven long term,” DeCosta said via Ryan Mink of the team’s website. That said, there haven’t been any updates on the negotiations since the organization declined the option.