The Washington Commanders let their first-team offense play the entire first half during their preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. The offense looked pretty good, with Sam Howell throwing for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns, but toward the end of the second quarter, things looked like they took a turn.
After catching a pass over the middle from Howell, wide receiver Terry McLaurin limped off the field with an apparent foot injury, and eventually slammed his shoe down on the sideline. McLaurin was examined by trainers and eventually taken to the locker room. The team announced after halftime that McLaurin suffered a toe injury and would not return, while CBS Sports NFL Insider Josina Anderson reported that X-rays on McLaurin’s toe were negative. And, fortunately for the Commanders, the injury doesn’t appear to be as serious as initially feared.
NFL Media reports that McLaurin is believed to be dealing with a toe sprain based on the initial diagnosis and scans relayed no major injury. The wideout is reportedly considered more day to day than anything and there is optimism that he could play Week 1.
McLaurin is the team’s No. 1 wideout, and is coming off a season during which he caught 77 passes for 1,191 yards and five touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl for the first time. Through his first four NFL seasons, McLaurin has 299 grabs for 4,281 yards and 21 scores.
While this latest news is promising, if he were to miss time, it would put a heavier workload on second-year wideout Jahan Dotson, as well as Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown, who himself left the game Monday night to be evaluated for a concussion. Dotson caught 5 passes for 76 yards from Howell in the first half, while McLaurin had 3 catches for 39 yards and Brown caught an 11-yard touchdown pass after McLaurin’s exit.