If you think the Washington Commanders couldn’t have any worse injury luck than they have already had, think again.
After one game back in action in a 28-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin won’t be available for Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks after re-aggravating the quad injury that already cost him 4 games this season.
“Commanders WR Terry McLaurin is out for Sunday after reinjuring his quad, coach Dan Quinn said,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Wednesday, October 29. “A setback for McLaurin.”
For McLaurin and the Commanders, who dropped to 3-5 with the loss to the Chiefs, it’s starting to look like a lost season. It’s a fact made even worse by the fact they made the NFC Championship Game in 2024 and had their best season since winning their last Super Bowl in 1991.
The Commanders entered the season as Super Bowl contenders after retooling the entire roster. McLaurin was one of the NFL’s best wide receivers in 2024, earning NFL All-Pro honors for the first time with 117 receptions for 1,096 yards and a franchise record 13 touchdowns.
The offseason wasn’t as smooth. McLaurin and the Commanders found themselves in extended, messy contract negotiations that didn’t end until he signed a 3-year, $97 million contract extension on August 25 which included a $30 million signing bonus and $44.65 million in guaranteed money.
What that mess may have ultimately cost the Commanders may have just been their season.
McLaurin and second year quarterback Jayden Daniels lost a complete offseason of training together and much of McLaurin’s injury struggles have been blamed on his time away from the team.
Daniels has also struggled with his own injury issues this season and was out for the loss to the Chiefs with a hamstring injury after missing 2 games earlier this season with a knee sprain.
The Commanders have now lost 3 consecutive games headed into Week 9 and don’t have their bye until Week 12.
McLaurin Lone Highlight for Commanders in Loss
McLaurin’s absence against the Seahawks stings even more because he was the lone highlight for the Commanders in the loss to the Chiefs.
Before he was sidelined late in the loss, McLaurin provided the 2 biggest plays of the game for the Commanders — an improbable, 11-yard touchdown catch to tie the score at 7-7 in the first half, then a brilliant sideline catch for a first down.
“With all the injuries to the Commanders this season, Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin have played only 2 games together this season,” The Athletic’s Nick Jhabvala wrote on her official X account on October 29.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith placed the Commanders’ struggles squarely on the shoulders of of the front office.
“The Commanders have messed this season up,” Smith said on October 21. ” … They really messed it up. The Washington Commanders messed up because they took for granted what happened last year. They thought they could play games. I’m blaming their front office for anything that’s happened this season. Take into account the quad (injury) as being in football shape and being in proper condition (for McLaurin). They let business get in the way of the business of winning games and now it’s messing with them on the football field.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Commanders Dealt Massive Blow With Latest Injury Update appeared first on Heavy Sports.