Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin just requested to be traded. With the San Francisco 49ers scrambling to figure out what to do at wide receiver, Washington could extend the Niners a lifeline by trading McLaurin to the Bay.
McLaurin wants a new contract, and it is easy to understand why. The 29-year-old veteran has been remarkably consistent in his career. In his last four seasons, he has 4,342 receiving yards and 27 touchdown catches without missing a single game in that span.
Washington would not want to let him go, though. He is a huge part of the offense and the second-best receiver after him is Deebo Samuel, whom the Niners sent to Washington in the offseason.
While the Niners did the Commanders, and general manager Adam Peters who was a long-time member of San Francisco's front office, a bit of a favor by only getting a fifth-round pick for Samuel, do not expect Peters and Co. to be as generous in trade talks for McLaurin.
If they even are entertaining trading him, they are surely going to ask for a big haul. The Niners would have to be prepared to part with some serious draft capital or maybe even a player like Brandon Aiyuk or Jauan Jennings.
However, with Jennings wanting a new contract as well and dealing with injuries, it would be complicated to trade him. Aiyuk is still recovering from his season-ending knee injury suffered last season and has a very sizeable contract, so trading him would come with complications as well.
But, if 49ers general manager John Lynch is feeling ambitious he knows that pulling off a huge trade for McLaurin would calm the nerves of many fans as well as people within the 49ers building who are probably concerned about the wide receiver situation.
San Francisco is clearly high on some of their younger options at the position, but it is fair to wonder if a player like Jordan Watkins is ready to take on a big role for the team right away as a rookie.
We know San Francisco decided to tighten the belt this offseason and get younger a cheaper, so trading for a premier wide receiver and signing him to a big extension is probably not something it would want to do.
Still, San Francisco is seen as a logical destination for McLaurin, so if the 49ers are feeling a bit frisky and are finally ready to do something big about their wide receiver situation, trading for McLaurin could be the move they need to make.