Terry McLaurin caused a stir when he watched the Washington Commanders' practice scrimmage from the sidelines. The wide receiver was even spotted talking to general manager Adam Peters, which provided fans with hope that this relationship was not as frayed as had been initially reported.
Nothing has been resolved contractually. That's the fact right now, and one Commanders insider raised the alarm bells once again regarding an ever-growing frailty without McLaurin leading the charge.
It was the defense's day. They were relentless in pursuit of quarterback Jayden Daniels, making the No. 2 pick extremely uncomfortable in the pocket and giving the offense almost nothing positive to show for their efforts. This follows on from a less-than-stellar joint practice and preseason game versus the New England Patriots, so it's rapidly becoming a concerning trend.
Commanders receivers struggled once again during team scrimmage as Terry McLaurin watched on
Lynnell Willingham from 106.7 The Fan acknowledged that it was a difficult day for the offense. The analyst highlighted the wide receivers' inability to create separation consistently, although Daniels isn't permitted to run with the football during camp sessions.
"On the offensive side of the football, it was rough. Guys continuing to struggle to create separation on the outside, man. It really felt like, for the first three or four series, the offense couldn't do anything. And look, the one thing I will say about the offense that you can't see right now is the fact that this offense can't have Jayden Daniels running. We know that was a big part of what this team was able to do last year. I feel like during the regular season, you'll see the legs unveiled."Lynnell Willingham
Full team scrimmage in the books for #Commanders 🏈 ☀️
— Lynnell Willingham (@Nell_BTP) August 12, 2025
Here are my top observations from today’s session 📝 pic.twitter.com/r7rizjrkGO
This is becoming a theme. Things looked promising around receiver depth earlier this summer, but it's starting to unravel. Peters opted not to make changes and ride it out with what he has for now. But if the situation continues, the front-office leader will be forced into more drastic action.
The Commanders still have all the leverage with McLaurin. Still, the second-team All-Pro will have seen the offensive struggles for himself without him. He knows how vital his production is to Washington's chances of going deep into the postseason once again. This is also probably why he's standing his ground amid an ongoing contract standoff.
As Willingham mentioned, the Commanders' dynamic will change when Daniels unleashes his dual-threat ability. At the same time, Kliff Kingsbury cannot be overly reliant on this gift, especially given the signal-caller's qualities as a pocket passer.
That's why McLaurin is integral. Just find some middle ground so fans can all move on.