Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin. Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Commanders announce tough injury news for star player

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Oct 2, 2025 10:07 PM ET

The Washington Commanders are heading into an important Week 5 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on the road, and they'll be playing this one without one of their best players. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been ruled out for Sunday's contest.

McLaurin hurt his right quad a few weeks ago trying to dive into the end zone on an explosive catch and run in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

He didn't play in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons, a 34-27 loss for the Commanders, and despite the fact that head coach Dan Quinn said that the wideout is trending in the right direction, he has been ruled out for this game against the Chargers.

McLaurin won't even be travelling with the team to Los Angeles.

Commanders now have ruled out WR Terry McLaurin, WR Noah Brown and G Sam Cosmi for Sunday’s game vs. the Chargers. None of those players are traveling with the team to Los Angeles today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 2, 2025

Again, the intel from Quinn is that McLaurin seems to be close to returning. In fact, he was seen working with athletic trainers during practice on Thursday, and that was the first time that he's made an appearance during the portions of practice that are open to the media.

Despite missing a game, McLaurin is still Washington's second leading receiver behind Deebo Samuel. He's caught 10 passes on 17 targets for 149 yards, though he's yet to find the end zone. McLaurin is averaging 14.9 yards per catch and nearly and 49.7 yards per game.

A seventh-year pro out of Ohio State, McLaurin has notched 6,528 yards and 38 touchdowns since joining Washington as a third round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He has a five-season streak of 1,000-plus yard receiving yards going.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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