Washington News, Updates and the Name

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June 2, 2025

by David Earl

Current Buzz: Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel

According to Isaiah Stanback, of SI.com, the addition of WR Deebo Samuel is already looking like a problem for opposing defenses. He stresses, “So you either have to back your safeties off and worry about Terry McLaurin going down the field, or you have Deebo Samuel with a super creative offensive coordinator in Kliff Kingsbury getting him the ball underneath with the ability to work on either nickelbacks, second corners, or linebackers,” he says, diagraming the issue defensive coordinators are about to face.” He also made a good point that we all knew, which is that Jayden Daniels completed 70% of his passes with a true number one wide receiver in Terry McLaurin, alongside a revolving door of number two wide receivers all season. That is certainly impressive for a rookie quarterback, and now Samuel will potentially make Daniels even better.

Looking at Samuel’s career, his best season was in 2021, in which he hauled in 77 receptions off 121 targets for 1,405 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 18.2 yards per catch. In the running game that season, Samuel ran for 360 yards on 59 carries, scoring 8 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per rush. Since the 2021 season, Samuel has amassed 2,194 receiving yards, with 1 season over 800 yards, and has averaged 56 receptions over the last 3 years. His yards per rush attempt during this span was an average of 4.9 yards per attempt, accounting for a total of 9 touchdowns during this span. Keep in mind that during this time, he had a more than efficient quarterback in Brock Purdy, who completed 67.5% of his passes, plus one of the best running backs and tight ends in the league. Now the question is, was his drop in production because there were too many mouths to feed on offense, or was his drop due to him taking a bit of a step back? While the chemistry between Samuel and Daniels is looking good so far, I’d suggest tempering your expectations just a little and wait to see how this all plays out on the field.

Terry McLaurin is currently in the final year of a three-year, $68.36 million contract extension with the Washington Commanders, signed in 2022. He is scheduled to earn $19.65 million in 2025, according to Spotrac. Last week, Steve posted what McLaurin’s contract could look like using the current NFL trends for contracts for a wide receiver and using the contract numbers of his peers. He stated that, “A probable contract value in the neighborhood of four years and between $130M – $135M, with between $55M – $60M guaranteed at signing and around $100M becoming guaranteed over the life of the contract.” So McLaurin will look to make north of $30 million per year. Although the performance on the field shows McLaurin sitting around the top 10-12 players at his position, he deserves close to top 5-tier money. He is certainly not Justin Jefferson or Ja’Marr Chase, but I’d argue his value for Washington exceeds the overall value of these two. What McLaurin offers in the locker room as a veteran presence, especially for second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels, alongside his performance on the field, truly is invaluable. He is a selfless team-first player who has always done what is best for the organization, which is very rare to find among your top-tier wide receivers who are typically divas. Although there is no current updated status on his contract talks, I believe his potential north of $30 million per year salary is more than worth it for this team.

Writing on the Wall?

Brian Robinson Jr. knows and understands the perception around him as seen from an earlier post, “Same energy!” Maybe this will motivate him or not, but Washington’s 5th-ranked running game looked promising on the surface until we peel away the top layers. We see two very different stories. This was Robinson’s best season.  He averaged 4.3 yards per carry and managed to run for more than 60 yards in a game 7 times, eclipsing the 100-yard mark 3 times during the regular season. While he can be a serviceable running back, he lacks the elite top-end speed and receiving skillset to be considered a true feature running back in today’s NFL. Daniels‘ 891 yards rushing on 148 carries at 6.0 yards per carry was a big help.

I am sure the added motivation is great for Robinson, and many fans are thrilled to hear his focus to prove something, but let’s also be honest: entering the draft, he was not seen as a multifaceted running back who could be a true third-down runner. His scouting report portrayed a true power back with good burst through the hole. Does an excellent job of squaring his shoulders in preparing for impact and uses his lower body strength very well to power through would-be tacklers. His weaknesses consisted of poor acceleration to break away from defenders in the secondary and a lack of great vertical speed, as you see in a runner like Jahmyr Gibbs from Detroit. He was used on a limited basis in pass blocking and as a receiver, which is an inexperience we all have seen to some degree.  Robinson may show some signs of frustration in any confidence in him as a feature running back, but he has not shown anymore to prove otherwise. In fact, Robinson has literally played to what his scouting report evaluated him to be, so the optimism in Robinson is warranted to be relatively tempered. I hope for the best, but unsure if he can be that dynamic home run threat this offense sorely needs.

Recent Poll: The Name

As everyone knows, the Redskins name was retired in July, 2022, as a result of pressure from the team’s then minority owners and corporations such as Nike and others. This pressure was applied during a time in which the scandals the of prior owner had come to light, which culminated in the Redskins name vanishing forever. Unfortunately the selection and rebranding process never satisfied the majority of the older and newer generations, as the iconic history of the Redskins name had been part of the very fabric of this fan base’s existence. Here we go as the branding is making headlines again although the name Redskins will never return to this team again as many fans continue to hope for a return.

I am not surprised to see a positive swing in accepting the name Commanders after a 12-5 season led by an electric rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels. I have said time and time again that any level of success would potentially delay a possible rebrand, but last season killed that idea. This organization has a face to push this brand in Daniels, who has entered the 2025 calendar year as the top-selling jersey in all of sports. Josh Harris has a stadium to build and a team to continue a level of success from last season, so any rebrand is a very low priority. Besides, this organization is going to market to the younger generations, and they typically find the Commander’s name to be a good brand.

As for the older generations, we know full well (at least most of us) this organization will say all the right things about the Redskins history and how they will honor that era. As all that will sound good, it is all just conjecture, as we soon will be completely overshadowed by the younger core of fans. Personally, as a realist, I came came to grips about the Redskins name never returning and how this brand today will remain. It’s easier for me more than a life long fan because there is a certain tradition and history I simply never had with the Redskins name. Many older generational fans saw the Redskins as more than a football team but a family event shared among generations. They became a fabric of many families’ lives, and to simply walk away from that is an unreasonable ask. I get it, it’s that mentality of “It’s just a name,” or “Winning is all that matters,” so get over it and move on. In some instances, you are absolutely right but not in most cases. What I find disingenuous is how berating someone with these memories that are tied to generations of families in their rejection of this brand is even considered tolerable. Allow these older generations their space and time because every change from here on out appeases nearly every younger generation but doesn’t do much in honoring the true past of the Washington Redskins.

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