McLaurin, Samuel return to practice for the Commanders
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel returned to practice for the Washington Commanders on Thursday, but coach Dan Quinn confirmed that quarterback Jayden Daniels will miss the team's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
McLaurin sat out the past four games after hurting his quadriceps muscle on a catch in Week 3, while Samuel missed Sunday's 44-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys with a heel problem that had bothered him for a while but hadn't prevented him from playing until now.
Until this prolonged absence, McLaurin had appeared in 72 consecutive regular-season games for the Commanders; he hadn’t missed one since late in the 2020 season. McLaurin, who turned 30 in September, has topped 1,000 yards receiving for each of the past five seasons. Last season, he accumulated 87 catches for 1,096 yards with 13 TDs and added another three scores in the postseason.
He missed training camp in 2025 while negotiating a new deal and eventually signed a three-year extension worth up to $96 million. McLaurin has 10 catches for 149 yards and no touchdowns this season.
In Samuel's first year with Washington, he leads the club with 34 catches and 315 yards receiving. He has caught three TD passes and run for another score.
With both of them sidelined, and Noah Brown on injured reserve with groin and knee issues, Daniels was without his three top wideouts against Dallas.
Daniels then hurt his right hamstring and left the game in the third quarter, replaced by Marcus Mariota. While Quinn said after an MRI exam on Monday that Daniels' injury was not significant and would not keep him out for the long term, the coach wasn't sure at the time whether last season's AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year would be available to play at Kansas City on Monday night.
With Daniels now set to sit out a third game this season — he was dealing with a bad left knee earlier — Mariota will get the start again. Washington went 1-1 in Mariota's earlier two starts.
Quinn said he wanted Daniels to be able to focus on rehabilitating the hamstring and not to worry about spending any time at practice this week, with the goal of being ready to return to action in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. After that, Washington faces the Detroit Lions.
The Commanders are 3-4 and have lost two games in a row. The Chiefs are 4-3.
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