The Commanders’ front office had known the stakes all offseason. The Franchise’s most electric weapon, a five-time 1,000-yard receiver and team captain, had been missing from the training camp without a new deal. His contract dispute hung like fog: Terry McLaurin publicly vented his frustration with management, fueling anxieties that the team’s brightest star might hold out, or worse, demand a trade. “I guess you can say there is a point of no return. I don’t think it’s at that now, but… time is kind of ticking.”

As the team trickled in at the Commanders’ training camp, news broke like a thunderclap. After months of a stalemate between the star WR and the front office, everything was on the table. As insiders noted, the possibilities ranged from “a holdout, a hold-in, and a trade request.” The Commanders hoped a deal would get done soon; HC Dan Quinn had made that clear. And McLaurin’s steady stream of stats went a long way to make his case in Washington. But someone has to pay the price to make room for McLaurin. And that came with the decision to release CB Fentrell Cypress.

As Adam Schefter broke the news on his X handle, “To make room for reinstating Terry McLaurin this morning, the Commanders released CB Fentrell Cypress.” In a separate post, Schefter also noted that Terry McLaurin’s holdout has now boiled down to a hold-in. McLaurin showed up at the training facility on Saturday, but did not take part in practice. He notably has an ankle injury that has made the Commanders move him to the Active/PUP list. Earlier, when McLaurin was away from the camp, the Commanders had placed him on the Reserve/Did Not Report list. But as the man showed up, the equations have changed.

Younger stars have long out-earned McLaurin, despite his $22.78 million annual salary. His age—he turns 30 this September—also kept hanging over the contract talks. Now entering his contract year, McLaurin wants top 10 receiver money in a market that’s rising fast. As the contact standoff extended into camp, whispers of high-stakes roster maneuvers grew. On the first day of camp, GM Adam Peters had signaled hope with continued contract talks. “Whatever happens along the way, just understand he’s a great player and we want to keep him here.” Then came Sunday’s move: to activate McLaurin and create cap flexibility for his next deal, Washington waived Fentrell Cypress, their undrafted but highly touted rookie corner from Florida State.

Waiving Cypress wasn’t a decision made lightly. Roster crunches and cap gymnastics push teams to sacrifice promise for proven stardom. For Cypress, the next move is hitting free agency at a moment when multiple teams are hungry for affordable, high-upside defensive backs. His college resume and professional measurable suggest he won’t stay jobless for long. He may blossom elsewhere, just out of reach for a Washington team that helped launch his journey. As for Terry McLaurin, there are more contract talks in the works. But at least for now, he isn’t going anywhere.

The next steps for Terry McLaurin

For Terry McLaurin, this whole sequence has been both a victory and a fresh burden. He will no longer be stacking up $50,000 fines per day, but the fines have already amounted to a whopping $200,000 for missing 4 days of camp. As for the ankle injury that placed him on the PUP list, he will not rehab his ankle while extension talks rumble along behind the scenes. McLaurin’s teammate Zach Ertz recently said that McLaurin’s ‘best’ plays will be needed “towards the end of training camp, week one.” There’s still time, and HC Quinn, for one, noted that he’s “pumped” McLaurin is in the building.

While a new deal cooks in the backend, it’s off to the trainers for McLaurin. As HC Quinn notably said, “On the business side, [GM Adam Peters] and the guys are still working hard with Terry and his reps. While on PUP, it’s just like we do with other guys – work with the trainers to get back as soon as he can.” For now, McLaurin’s return signals hope to a franchise desperate for consistency. But his clouded status keeps the front office and locker room in limbo. But the QB Jayden Daniels has already found a new weapon to throw to in training camp.

While the contract saga was unfolding away from training camp, Daniels was throwing tight passes to their new WR addition, Deebo Samuel. With McLaurin on the road to recovery, Samuel will continue to play a bigger role through camp to add to the Commanders’ offense. And for McLaurin? The shadow of his future looms over the franchise. He’s rehabbing, he’s negotiating, and being a little more patient than before. Once a new deal comes through, how much do you think it’ll be?