After the Mike Williams retirement announcement, the Los Angeles Chargers could target Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin in a trade. According to breaking reports, Williams decided to retire from the NFL at age 30 after spending most of his career with the Chargers. The wideout was hoping to win the starting job when returning to the Chargers, but was put on the PUP list to start training camp. This leaves a massive hole in Justin Herbert’s aerial attack, and it will get ugly before it might get better, as 2025 draft pick Tre Harris is still holding out until he and the team can agree to a contract.
While the Chargers could reunite with top free agent Keenan Allen, it might not benefit them in the long term. The team has $27 million left in cap space, so they could probably pull a trade in the right situation. This means they could contract the Commanders to check on the availability of McLaurin, especially since the two are in a standoff in negotiations. The Commanders haven’t been making progress in getting a deal to their top wideout, so this might be the right situation for the two sides to come together and pull off a possible trade that they can agree on.
McLaurin won’t only be getting interest from the Chargers, but these three other teams could pursue him if Washington makes him available on the trade block.
Breaking: Mike Williams Retirement Could Trigger Massive Trade for Terry McLaurin
Other Possible Fits
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are now in the market for a temporary wide receiver, but they could target a long-term weapon for Patrick Mahomes’ pass game. Rashee Rice will miss a few games this upcoming season, so they need an explosive to help veteran Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy. Terry McLaurin is the perfect deep threat target that the Chiefs could figure out to bring in at least for one season to see what he could do part of this offense.
If he were able to perform up to standards in Washington, regardless of having an inadequate quarterback before Jayden Daniels, he could have something for Kansas City that the league hasn’t seen before. He won’t take snaps away from Brown or Worthy, but if things work out, he could fit with Worthy and Rice for the longevity of this offense.
Baltimore Ravens
Meanwhile, this trade could make sense for the Baltimore Ravens as well. After coming close to the Super Bowl for several seasons, McLaurin might be the weapon that Lamar Jackson is missing in this offense. While DeAndre Hopkins has some veteran experience from his appearance in the Super Bowl with the Chiefs last year, he might not be the overall answer. McLaurin is a little bit younger and could pair with Zay Flowers in the deep threat, while Rashod Bateman could handle the slot and middle routes in situational play-action moments.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints might not be contenders, but McLaurin would probably take the spotlight on that roster. He won’t be a prime Michael Thomas if he lands in New Orleans, but it gives Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler more confidence to throw the football. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are the main contributors of this pass offense, but McLaurin’s presence could make this offense even sweeter as the Saints will have quarterback competition this NFL Training Camp.
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