Jayden Daniels returned to action in Week 5, and the Washington Commanders got a big win against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers were hungry to bounce back from a brutal loss to the New York Giants, but the Commanders were having none of it. They got their franchise QB back and handily beat Los Angeles. They are still waiting for their best receiver to return, though.
Head coach Dan Quinn offered an update on a potential return for Terry McLaurin.
What’s the Update on Terry McLaurin’s Injury?
McLaurin has missed the last two games with a right quad injury. He picked up the injury in their Week 3 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, the Commanders are patiently awaiting his return. Quinn expressed optimism when discussing the return of a few players, one of which is McLaurin.
Quinn said he’s “optimistic” about Terry McLaurin for this week and reiterates that he and others — Noah Brown, Sam Cosmi — are trending in the right direction. Having the extra day helps. But, stop me if you’ve heard this one, we’ll find out more later in the week.
— John Keim (@john_keim) October 6, 2025
It is only Monday, and the Commanders don’t play until Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. It’s early in the week, so it’s hard to judge whether McLaurin will be in action against Chicago. The Commanders are pretty thin at receiver and could use McLaurin to get the offense back to top form.
McLaurin is the 47th-ranked receiver in PFSN’s Wide Receiver Impact score with a grade of 75.3. It is important to note that he has played only three games. This is less than a majority of the receivers ahead of him. He is, without a doubt, an essential part of the Commanders’ offense. They made sure to pay him with a three-year extension to avoid him missing time in a holdout, and now they await his return for injury.
Rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt has taken over the backfield and had an electric performance against Los Angeles. He’s helped carry the offensive load during the key absences of Daniels and McLaurin. He finished as PFSN’s highest-graded running back in Week 5 on PFSN’s RB Impact score. He is currently the top-ranked RB in the metric over the first five games with a grade of 93.6.
With Daniels back, Washington’s offense, including weapons like McLaurin, Croskey-Merritt, and Deebo Samuel Sr., will be gearing up to get back into the form that took them to the NFC Championship in 2024. With the Eagles’ loss in Week 5, the Commanders find themselves just one game behind in the NFC East standings. They won’t play each other until Weeks 16 and 18, so there’s plenty of time before they go at it.
The Commanders must take it one week at a time and remain healthy to make another deep playoff run. McLaurin’s return would be a great boost to the team, but only time will decide whether he can be back for Monday Night Football.
