Wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel will both be active for the Washington Commanders' game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, head coach Dan Quinn said Saturday.
Monday's game will be the first time that the Commanders' offense will feature McLaurin and Samuel on the field together since Week 3. McLaurin suffered a quad injury while trying to score a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders and has been inactive since then. Samuel has been dealing with a heel injury that kept him out of last Sunday's 44-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Both players were full participants throughout the week.
"Terry and Deebo have both had good weeks, and we're excited to get them back out on the field," Quinn said.
Although McLaurin returned to the practice field last week, it was in a limited capacity and only for one day. This week, McLaurin had a full workload and fully reintegrated himself into the offense. McLaurin said he didn't truly feel like himself until he had a route running session with the training staff on Monday.
"I had a really good day at practice yesterday," McLaurin said. "I felt really good. It's just getting in the movements of football again. I don't necessarily call it rust. It's just getting back into the rhythm of football. That comes with reps, and I've had two really good days. I'm looking forward to finishing it up tomorrow."
Samuel has stepped up in McLaurin's place and emerged as the Commanders' go-to weapon in the passing game with 315 receiving yards and four total touchdowns. Samuel's heel injury, however, left him limited in practice for the previous two weeks. He and the Commanders decided the Saturday before the Cowboys game that he would let the injury heal over the weekend so that he would be ready to go against the Chiefs. Samuel said the injury was "not an issue" this week and that he would be "ready to rock out" with McLaurin.
The two receivers should help even the odds against the Chiefs, who have a top 10 offense and defense and have won four of their last five games. Their presence should at least help diversify the offense, which had to rely more heavily on their run game and backup receivers against the Cowboys.
"That always helps; there's no doubt," offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said Friday. "There's certain coverages that teams aren't willing to play when you have guys like that on the field. So, they can definitely help open things up if they're able to go."
The Commanders have struggled with injuries at several positions all season, but this week's injury report was much shorter compared to previous weeks. Tight end Colson Yankoff, who experienced a hamstring injury earlier in the week, was ruled out. The Commanders also ruled out quarterback Jayden Daniels on Thursday with the same injury, making way for Marcus Mariota to start in his third game this season.
Daron Payne is dealing with a toe injury and is listed as questionable after not practicing all week. Kicker Matt Gay was added to the injury report with a back injury and is also questionable for Monday.
