# Rich Eisen: Eisen pushed back on the idea that a Terry McLaurin trade would make New England a division threat, though he allowed the Patriots could be a sleeper team, and he insisted McLaurin will end up getting paid by the Washington Commanders. **Claimed:** Jul 21, 2025 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** Overreaction Monday (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/overreaction-monday-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO5218954510.mp3?updated=1753969139 2 checkable claims — 1 surprise team call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > Terry's gonna get paid by the Washington Commanders. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **New England Patriots to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **Terry McLaurin to move to Washington Commanders** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Terry McLaurin — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/terry-mclaurin - Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders ## What others said about the same people - Chris Long on New England Patriots: Previewing Week 2, Long called New England a spot to bounce back against Pittsburgh, projected a 27-14 Patriots win, saw Eagles-Titans as a 23-10 grinder, liked the Rams' spot Monday night against the Giants, and wrote down a Bills 31, Lions 23 final for the Thursday nighter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ab903e00-9f1b-4862-91a6-96343679649c (scored 100) - Nate Tice on New England Patriots: Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100) - Chris Broussard on New England Patriots: Broussard picked the Bills to beat the Chargers in a competitive, higher-scoring game, said the Chiefs will rout the Dolphins, and for upset alert parlayed the Patriots over the Jaguars and the Raiders over the Saints. He also restated his Cowboys-versus-Ravens Super Bowl matchup pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dee7585c-6da6-4afc-9954-ff32cf8de4e3 (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on New England Patriots: In the winners-only chips segment Parkins backed the Patriots over the Jaguars, the Bengals over the Steelers and the Ravens over the Cowboys in Brazil. He also said New England has a real shot at a top-10 defense and that Kayshon/Romeo Dobbs will be the Patriots' number one target. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88f60b41-3824-4b00-b0f0-f434c55c539b (scored 0) - Mark Wahlberg on New England Patriots: Wahlberg went game-by-game through the Patriots' schedule and predicted a 14-3 season, with losses only at Buffalo, to the Lions in Germany, and at Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14761919-29fa-4eda-a3d4-ba0f76f399c2 (scored 0) - David Harrison on Washington Commanders: Harrison lays out a path for the Washington Commanders to exceed their 7.5-win total, identifying eight specific games he projects them to win: home vs. Seattle (Week 3), vs. Indianapolis in London (Week 4), a sweep of the Giants (Weeks 5 and 10), at Arizona (Week 12), at Tennessee (Week 13), vs. Atlanta (Week 15) and vs. Dallas (Week 18). He also says the Bengals (Week 11) and Texans (Week 14) games are winnable. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/557473e2-242a-41c5-beb5-026d792d86fa (scored 100) ## More trade and signing calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Fox Sports on Austin Ekeler: The piece reports, citing ESPN, that Carolina is expected to sign veteran running back Austin Ekeler with Jonathon Brooks sidelined. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a3aa7c15-e643-4c03-85d9-10aef8b4085a (scored 0) - Steve Kubitza on Za'Darius Smith: Kubitza suggests that Kevin Stefanski's Falcons may lure veteran pass rusher Za'Darius Smith away from Cleveland, signing him in Atlanta instead of the Browns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/54fca826-8644-4e76-bc3f-5d8d44bcca23 (scored 100) - Mary Kay Cabot on Za'Darius Smith: Cabot reported that Za'Darius Smith is expected to sign with the Browns, possibly as early as Sunday, after working out for the team. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3eb50e55-cb33-43c3-a427-d47904beb7bb (scored 0) - Brandon Carney on Austin Ekeler: Carney drafted a team of rookies he expects to make an immediate fantasy impact (headlined by Karnell Tate and Makai Lemon), predicted landing spots for the remaining big-name free agents, and gave way-too-early division winners, wild cards and award picks — Patriots, Chargers, Bengals, Jaguars, Eagles, Rams, Vikings and Saints as division champs with Joe Burrow as MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c4d477da-4fb8-4a25-a904-c5057a249a70 (scored 0) - Adam Carlson on J.J. McCarthy: Carlson names three Vikings he expects could be traded before the end of September: quarterback J.J. McCarthy, wide receiver Jordan Addison and linebacker Ivan Pace. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/65e3f9cf-c441-42a2-baaf-7cd3dbebafad (scored 100) - Greg Auman on J.J. McCarthy: Auman argues no quarterback is likely to replicate Sam Darnold's turnaround this season, but names five candidates. He expects Miami to hold a very high pick in the 2027 draft, and thinks J.J. McCarthy will eventually be traded for a late-round pick or cut by the Vikings. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9b8eb78e-ddfa-4274-ac8f-17b069e6b87f (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=rich-eisen