Wide receiver Terry McLaurin’s impact on the Commanders offense has been easy to see over the last three seasons, but head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday that his on-field impact isn’t the only reason why the team signed him to a three-year contract extension.
Rivera introduced McLaurin at a press conference by saying that retaining the wideout “means a lot for the team as a whole” and that holding onto him is the kind of move that affects the entire organization.
“He’s an organizational signing,” Rivera said, via John Keim of ESPN.com. “It impacts not just the football side but the business side. It tells people we want to retain young men of this stature; we want young men of this magnitude out there representing our organization.”
Rivera’s comments come at a time when the conduct of owner Daniel Snyder and others in the organization is being probed by Congress and Rivera’s comments are a clear attempt to focus on the future rather than on the past actions that have generated a widespread negative perception of the team.