Terry McLaurin is set to miss Sunday’s game against the after a hamstring injury picked up in Friday practice. The wide receiver was listed as questionable on the Friday injury report, then ruled inactive once the final list was set. A team source said there was still optimism on Friday that he could play. By Saturday afternoon, that optimism had gone.
He is one of seven Commanders inactives. The absence removes Washington’s leading yardage receiver on a day the offense is already without its starting quarterback.
Terry McLaurin’s status flipped late in the week. He worked through the early portion of the injury report as questionable, which left the door open for a game-day decision. The hamstring issue, suffered in Friday’s session, did not respond the way the staff had hoped. Once Saturday arrived, the club moved him to inactive rather than risk a longer layoff.
This is not his first soft-tissue interruption. McLaurin missed seven games last season with a quad injury. The Commanders will be careful not to turn a one-week absence into another extended stretch, especially with a Week 6 date against the still on the calendar.
The numbers show why his absence matters. Terry McLaurin caught only four passes across the first two games, then broke out in last week’s 33-31 win over the Seattle Seahawks with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. He leads Washington with 141 receiving yards.
He has also built a clear link with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. In nine games together, the pair have connected on 38 passes for 601 yards and five touchdowns. With Jayden Daniels already ruled out, that chemistry was one of the more reliable outlets the offense had left. Losing both the starter and the top yardage target on the same weekend narrows the playbook.
Rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams is the name most likely to see a heavier snap count. Dyami Brown and Trey Burks can both take turns in McLaurin’s spot. , who has been starting at flanker opposite McLaurin, is another option to slide across.
Diggs already leads the team with 13 receptions and three touchdown catches. His production gives Washington a proven target, but the group is thinner without McLaurin’s downfield threat. The Commanders do get one piece back: tight end Chig Okonkwo returns after missing the past two games with his own hamstring injury. His presence should help the intermediate passing game and give Mariota a check-down he has not had recently.
For Sunday in Indianapolis, the burden sits with Mariota and a receiving room that must cover McLaurin’s routes without him. Washington beat Seattle last week with McLaurin involved. Doing it again without him, and without Daniels, is a different test. The club will watch the hamstring through the early part of next week before setting any return date beyond the inactive tag.
