Dan Quinn hints at the timeline for All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin to finally return to the Commanders’ offense

Terry McLaurin is back at practice, but still needs to clear some markers to play.

Josh Taylor — Washington Commanders News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
© Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The bye week has come and gone for the Washington Commanders, and now it’s time to get back to work for the final six weeks of the season.

There’s already a lot of positive news from the team: quarterback Jayden Daniels is returning to practice while he awaits clearance to resume contact. Many others, like Noah Brown and Will Harris, are getting back on the field as well during their 21-day window returns from IR, but people want to see Terry McLaurin. The best-case scenario is Daniels returning with his favorite target on the field, ready to go.

McLaurin is another player who has missed the majority of this nightmare season with an injury, and head coach Dan Quinn hints at a return for the All-Pro wide receiver.

Terry McLaurin could be returning soon

McLaurin suffered a quad injury against the Las Vegas Raiders while going for a touchdown, which forced him to miss the next four games. Then, in his return against the Kansas City Chiefs, he reinjured the same quad, and he’s been out since.

That was four weeks ago, which means he should return this week if it’s going to be the same timeline as before, but Quinn isn’t ready to be too optimistic just yet. McLaurin returned to the team’s first practice today, but it was just a walkthrough, and he still has more steps to clear.

“Yeah, it was good to see him [McLaurin], and that smile lit up,” Quinn said. “So, it wasn’t like a full speed hauling a– day, but that’s kind of what we’re hoping the progression for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday looks like for him and some of his teammates. But, you know, he’s really worked hard, and so to see, you know, us take the next step, like we’ll see where it takes us. But it was awesome to have him out there today. I’m excited for him.

“‘I’ll have a better answer for you later [on McLaurin’s chances to play Sunday], only because I’ve seen Will [Harris] a little bit longer, but I would say this, man, I’m, I’m excited about, you know, the possibilities because of his speed and how he’s moving. And so those are our big steps, so maybe I saw Will already do it, the full speed spots at practice, come back and do it again. And so that’s the space that we need to see from Terry and repeat it and repeat it. Once I see that, then I’ll let the optimism, you know, grow stronger, but let’s, let’s take us through those two steps first.”

Getting McLaurin and Daniels back at the same time might not do much for the playoffs, but it certainly helps the two connect again and take that momentum into next season. Daniels hasn’t played with McLaurin since Week 2, and that’s a significant reason why the Commanders are 3-8 and on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs.

Related Articles