One indication of the way the Washington Commanders have been run this season —and the ensuing misery — can be found in Saturday’s injury report ahead of the Week 15 game against the equally miserable New York Giants.
There was some brief confusion as to why NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who has played in the last 2 games, wasn’t even at practice. Which would seem to indicate he wasn’t playing against the Giants.
Not the case.
It was just a pre-scheduled rest day for McLaurin, who has missed 7 games this season due to injury. Same thing for wide receiver Noah Brown, who has missed 10 games due to injury.
It’s understood full investment might not be there with the Commanders sitting at 3-10 and already eliminated from the playoffs. But still. It’s not a normal occurrence. And it doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Terry McLaurin & Noah Brown both had a planned day off today,” 106.7-FM The Fan’s Grant Paulsen wrote on X. “Deebo Samuel was sick. Next year, it’d be great to see Commanders have fewer of those. A healthier team will lead to that. Also, getting younger is a key to this. Tons of vet days have kept them from having full, regular practices.”
McLaurin’s Contract Talks May Have Derailed Season
There’s a lot of blame to go around when it comes to the Commanders’ lost season — a year in which they started as Super Bowl contenders and finish with a month’s worth of meaningless games.
The original sin of the Year From Hell lies with McLaurin’s messy contract negotiations.
The Commanders, having missed the opportunity to extend McLaurin at any point during a record-setting, NFL All-Pro season in 2024, decided to continue that fight into the offseason.
McLaurin, understandably, held out/held in. The key was he wasn’t working out with his team and not working out with second year quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders, inexplicably, didn’t just get it over with and pay McLaurin in March. Instead, they strung it out and wasted an entire offseason with arguably their best player at a formative time for their other best player.
Even worse? The Commanders eventually paid McLaurin exactly what he wanted with a 3-year, $97 million contract extension on August 25 — barely one week before the regular season opener against the Giants.
The time away proved disastrous. Daniels and McLaurin never looked in sync and McLaurin had 2 extended absences with a quad injury that cost him a career high 7 games and will end with his worst NFL season by a country mile.
Samuel’s Role Changed Drastically With Injuries
The Commanders traded for Samuel hoping he would be a WR2/Weapon X this season to compliment Daniels, McLaurin and tight end Zach Ertz.
Daniels will miss his seventh game of the year (elbow) against the Giants, and without McLaurin as well, Samuel ended up being the main option on offense at times. It’s not a role he’s ever been suited for.
Even at that, Samuel has been somewhat heroic in trying to keep the ship afloat with 62 receptions for 560 yards and 6 total touchdowns in 12 games.
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