Colin Cowherd made multiple incorrect statements discussing Terry McLaurin

Before the 2022 NFL season, Terry McLaurin, entering his third NFL season, signed a contract extension with the Washington Commanders. That’s apparently news to Colin Cowherd.

On Monday’s episode of The Herd, Cowherd compared McLaurin to Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons, who have both asked to be traded. Cowherd noted that while he doesn’t side with Parsons in his search for a new deal, he’s on the side of McLaurin.

“Not all contract holdouts are the same,” Cowherd said. “And the media tends to always take the player’s side in this. I get that with Terry McLaurin of Washington. I’m on his side. I’m not on Micah Parsons’.”

Cowherd then explained why he’s such a fan of McLaurin’s.

“Terry McLaurin has been a dog in the playoffs. He’s been unbelievable in the regular season. He was the only bright spot before Jayden Daniels got to town for about three years. He’s unbelievably productive and he is a third-round pick. So he has wildly outperformed his contract. He is the most underrated and underpaid player in the league,” Cowherd said.

McLaurin has certainly been a productive player. In six NFL seasons, he’s averaged 76 receptions and 1,063 receiving yards per year. And as Cowherd correctly noted, that’s despite playing for a team that didn’t have much talent around him offensively until 2024. Where Cowherd begins to stray is bringing up where McLaurin was drafted.

Yes, McLaurin was a third-round pick — in 2019. As previously noted, McLaurin signed a three-year extension worth $71 million and included a $28 million bonus before the 2022 season. At the time, McLaurin’s deal made him one of the top-five paid receivers in the league.

“He has wildly, wildly outperformed his contract… You GOTTA pay guys like that!”@colincowherd says that between Micah Parsons and Terry McLaurin, only one has earned a contract extension pic.twitter.com/d2bfLTbiIR

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 4, 2025

Cowherd continued.

“And then Washington goes out and signs Deebo Samuel, who I like. But you can’t have Deebo making significantly more than Terry McLaurin. Deebo’s older. Deebo’s been injured more. Deebo’s just not as good as Terry McLaurin.”

For the most part, this is a fair comment. It’s tough to compare Samuel’s numbers to any other receiver because he was such a huge part of the rushing attack of the San Francisco 49ers. But throughout their careers, McLaurin has been healthier than Samuel. There’s also no argument about who was better in 2024. That was McLaurin.

But “Deebo’s older” probably should have been left out of Cowherd’s dialogue.

Both players were drafted in 2019, and McLaurin, who will turn 30 in September 2025, is actually older than Samuel, who won’t turn 30 until January 2026.

pic.twitter.com/qflx9NHbfs

— Vid Clip Hero (@VidClipHero) August 5, 2025

Cowherd finished by saying that McLaurin is one of only four receivers (along with Justin Jefferson, Mike Evans and Davante Adams) to have 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last five seasons. That is accurate. He also exclaimed, “And he hasn’t been paid yet.” That is not accurate.

As the 2023 MLB trade deadline approached, there were a lot of questions about whether the Los Angeles Angels, who were out of contention, would trade Shohei Ohtani, whose contract expired at the end of that season. Cowherd, on the air, proclaimed that if it were his decision, draft picks would have to come back his way. He then learned, also on the air, that MLB draft picks can’t be traded. And while it was silly for Cowherd to not research that before going on the air, Cowherd at least owned his mistake and said that he was a “baseball casual.”

Cowherd is not a football casual. It’s long been the bread and butter of his show. This was also not a spontaneous matter that broke on the air, forcing Cowherd to adjust on the fly. McLaurin’s contract issue and trade request are several days old.

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