Washington continues dealing with uncertainty in their receiving group as they prepare for Monday night’s divisional matchup with Chicago. Terry McLaurin remains sidelined with the quad injury that has kept him out of the past two contests. For fantasy football managers hoping for the veteran receiver’s return, what is his current status heading into Week 6?
Terry McLaurin Injury Update
McLaurin first suffered his quad injury with 4:47 left in the third quarter during Washington’s Week 3 victory over Las Vegas. The injury happened when he dove toward the end zone on what appeared to be a 57-yard touchdown before officials overturned the score upon review.
What initially seemed like a routine quad strain became more complex when McLaurin consulted multiple medical specialists, including core muscle expert Dr. William Meyers. The involvement of a core injury specialist indicated the problem might be more serious than originally assessed.
McLaurin missed all practice sessions leading up to Week 4’s game against Atlanta. Washington ruled him out for that contest, and he subsequently sat out Week 5’s victory over the Chargers as well. The receiver has now been absent for two consecutive games.
Head coach Dan Quinn provided encouraging comments on Monday following the Chargers win. “Yeah, we’re optimistic about Terry and a few other guys that are trending in the right direction,” Quinn explained. “Having an extra day never hurts, but I’ll have a better sense in a few days of where they’re at.”
The Commanders benefit from playing Monday night against the Bears, giving McLaurin an extra day of recovery compared to typical Sunday games. This additional time could prove crucial for his return timeline.
However, McLaurin did not participate in Wednesday’s practice session. While Wednesday practices are often viewed as relatively meaningless, especially for veteran players managing minor ailments, the circumstances differ for players coming off missed games.
It is extremely uncommon for a player who missed the previous week due to injury to skip Wednesday’s practice and still play that weekend. This pattern typically suggests the player isn’t ready to resume full football activities.
Fantasy managers should temper their expectations for McLaurin’s Week 6 availability. Though the week is still early and he could potentially return to practice on Thursday, his Wednesday absence represents a concerning sign for his chances against Chicago.
It is worth noting that since the Commanders play on Monday, their first official practice is not technically until Thursday.
McLaurin’s situation requires close monitoring throughout the week. His participation level in Thursday and Friday practices will provide the best indication of whether he can return for Monday night’s NFC East showdown.
Fantasy managers should prepare contingency plans and expect to be without McLaurin for another week, while maintaining cautious optimism that his recovery progresses positively.
Update:Â McLaurin did not practice on Thursday. We also got an Ian Rapaport report on Thursday morning painting a pessimistic picture on his status. It is a little encouraging that McLaurin was with the team, but working off the side.
It’s an improvement upon where he was at this point last week. But he did not have his jersey on and clearly was not preparing for a game, but rather working on his recovery. McLaurin is traveling 100 mph toward another absence. Prepare an alternative once again.
McLaurin Fantasy Outlook
This quad injury is troublesome.
McLaurin hadn’t missed a game in four consecutive seasons prior to Week 4 and, considering that Washington doesn’t go on bye until Week 12, I think it’s possible they take a long-term approach with their WR1.
Through three games, McLaurin doesn’t yet have an end zone target and has the lowest on-field target share through four weeks of his career. If the injury report is clean, we are looking at a WR2 that I wouldn’t hesitate to plug back into lineups.
Washington gets Dallas next week, so the hope is that McLaurin doesn’t completely miss this very favorable stretch (if there is a panicked manager in your league, a buy-low sort of deal is very much on the table).
— PFSN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe
Week 6 WR Rankings
1) Puka Nacua | Los Angeles Rams (at BAL)
2) Amon-Ra St. Brown | Detroit Lions (at KC)
3) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seattle Seahawks (at JAX)
4) Rome Odunze | Chicago Bears (at WAS)
5) Drake London | Atlanta Falcons (vs. BUF)
6) Emeka Egbuka | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. SF)
7) Garrett Wilson | New York Jets (vs. DEN)
8) George Pickens | Dallas Cowboys (at CAR)
9) Deebo Samuel Sr. | Washington Commanders (vs. CHI)
10) Ja’Marr Chase | Cincinnati Bengals (at GB)
11) Davante Adams | Los Angeles Rams (at BAL)
12) Quentin Johnston | Los Angeles Chargers (at MIA)
13) Xavier Worthy | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. DET)
14) Tetairoa McMillan | Carolina Panthers (vs. DAL)
15) Michael Pittman Jr. | Indianapolis Colts (vs. ARI)
16) Courtland Sutton | Denver Broncos (at NYJ)
17) Jaylen Waddle | Miami Dolphins (vs. LAC)
18) DK Metcalf | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CLE)
19) Stefon Diggs | New England Patriots (at NO)
20) Marvin Harrison Jr. | Arizona Cardinals (at IND)
21) Keenan Allen | Los Angeles Chargers (at MIA)
22) Jakobi Meyers | Las Vegas Raiders (vs. TEN)
23) A.J. Brown | Philadelphia Eagles (at NYG)
24) Chris Olave | New Orleans Saints (vs. NE)
25) Ladd McConkey | Los Angeles Chargers (at MIA)
26) Zay Flowers | Baltimore Ravens (vs. LAR)
27) Brian Thomas Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. SEA)
28) DeVonta Smith | Philadelphia Eagles (at NYG)
29) Calvin Ridley | Tennessee Titans (at LV)
30) Jameson Williams | Detroit Lions (at KC)
31) Wan’Dale Robinson | New York Giants (vs. PHI)
32) Chris Godwin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. SF)
33) Tee Higgins | Cincinnati Bengals (at GB)
34) DJ Moore | Chicago Bears (at WAS)
35) Khalil Shakir | Buffalo Bills (at ATL)
36) Kendrick Bourne | San Francisco 49ers (at TB)
37) Cooper Kupp | Seattle Seahawks (at JAX)
38) Rashid Shaheed | New Orleans Saints (vs. NE)
39) Matthew Golden | Green Bay Packers (vs. CIN)
40) Jauan Jennings | San Francisco 49ers (at TB)
41) Romeo Doubs | Green Bay Packers (vs. CIN)
42) Tre Tucker | Las Vegas Raiders (vs. TEN)
43) Josh Downs | Indianapolis Colts (vs. ARI)
44) Keon Coleman | Buffalo Bills (at ATL)
45) Jerry Jeudy | Cleveland Browns (at PIT)
46) Darnell Mooney | Atlanta Falcons (vs. BUF)
47) Troy Franklin | Denver Broncos (at NYJ)
48) Elic Ayomanor | Tennessee Titans (at LV)
