The Washington Commanders have had some poor luck at receiver this season, but some much-needed help may be on the way with two of their best playmakers on track to make their return against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.

Veterans Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel returned to the practice field on Thursday, signaling some positive news for a Commanders team preparing for another primetime road game against the Chiefs. The team hasn't said whether either player will suit up on Monday night, but both were full participants on Thursday.

Assuming they are cleared by the team's medical staff on Saturday, their presence would provide a boost for an offense that has needed more from its wideouts.

"Those guys are not only unbelievable football players, but they're great leaders," Marcus Mariota said Thursday. "And when you go through these adverse situations and you're kind of going and dealing with these valleys as a team, it's nice to get a spark with those guys coming back out on the field."

The Commanders had a plan for McLaurin, Samuel and Noah Brown to be their top options at receiver, but the three haven't been on the field together since Week 2. McLaurin has missed the last four games with a quad injury, while Samuel has a heel issue that forced him to miss last week's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Brown was placed on Injured Reserve with groin and knee injuries but also missed four games prior to receiving that designation.

Of the three, Samuel has been the healthiest and stepped up in their absence to be the Commanders' go-to weapon in the passing game. He's the team's leading receiver with 315 yards and four total touchdowns so far this season. Washington's quarterbacks, regardless of whether it's been Mariota or Jayden Daniels, have a 111.8 rating when targeting him -- the fourth best rating on the roster, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Commanders missed that production when Samuel was ruled out the Saturday leading into the Cowboys game with a heel injury that has been bothering him for the last three weeks. Head coach Dan Quinn said the team didn't consider it to be a long-term issue, and Samuel brushed off questions about whether the injury was bothering him.

"Not an issue," Samuel said. "It was kind of nagging a little bit last week, so we made the decision to take an extra week to get ready."

McLaurin's injury has been much trickier for him and the Commanders to manage. McLaurin, who was injured while trying to score a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, only just returned to practice last week but only participated on Wednesday. While Quinn was pleased with how McLaurin responded to the workload, the medical staff decided that McLaurin wasn't ready for a full workload in a game.

McLaurin said there were good days and "not so good days" during his recovery process. As much as he wanted to be healthy as soon as possible, he tried to focus on the progress he was making each day. It wasn't until he went through a route session on Monday that he started to feel "100% like myself."

"That's the tough part," McLaurin said. "There's some things that bother you and some things you necessarily don't, but when you're in that position, you just try to give it your all and trust what you feel and trust what they're telling you."

McLaurin, who recorded five consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns prior to the start of the season, didn't want to put himself out there if he couldn't do everything that is expected of him in the offense. Now that he feels like he's reached that threshold, he's looking forward to being back on the field and helping his team win.

"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."

And with McLaurin potentially joining Samuel on the field again, the hope is that the offense will look closer to the vision the team had for it during the offseason.

"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."

While the Commanders like players like Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane and Chris Moore who have stepped in McLaurin and Samuel, it's clear they have missed having their full arsenal of playmakers. Their absence allowed the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys -- two of the worst teams at defending the run -- to overcommit to the Commanders' ground attack. The Commanders still rushed for 100-plus yards against both squads, but that didn't lead to them extending drives or improving their time of possession.

It's been wild for Samuel that he, McLaurin and Brown haven't spent much time on the field together up to this point, but he knows that injuries are a part of the game. He's glad that McLaurin is trending towards being healthy again.

"It's good to get Terry back," Samuel said. "We're just ready to rock out."

McLaurin and Samuel's return comes at an ideal time in the season, as they are preparing to face a Chiefs team with a top 10 offense and defense. Even if the defensive adjustments the Commanders have promised end up improving the unit, they will still need to keep up with the Chiefs on the scoreboard to pull off a road upset. It would at least help even the odds if both players manage to get on the field Monday.