Commanders WR Terry McLaurin's status for Sunday remains uncertain

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is coming along nicely in his injury recovery, but his status for the season-opener is still up in the air.

The star wideout is dealing with turf toe at the moment and is reportedly progressing well with hopes of participating in the Commanders’ game against the Cardinals this weekend. However, as of now, there’s no clarity on whether he will or won’t play.

The latest update came from Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, who tweeted out on Tuesday that McLaurin hopes to play in the opener but there’s no word whether that will be the case yet. Here was that report:

“Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (turf toe) is progressing in his recovery and is considered day to day, per sources. There’s hope he can play in the opener Sunday, but his status is still uncertain.”

McLaurin is coming off a tremendous last few seasons. The former Ohio State star surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last three seasons despite catching passes from NINE different quarterbacks since he began his NFL career in Washington back in 2019. This year, with Sam Howell getting the QB1 nod, McLaurin will have his fifth different opening day starter in five years under center.

With so little consistency at the titular position on the football field — and the one throwing all of the passes to McLaurin — it’s impressive he’s produced so consistently. Plus, he was a menace against Arizona the last time he faced them, racking up 125 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.

McLaurin impressed by Commanders QB Sam Howell

One of the keys to success in the NFL is having a quarterback the receivers trust — something Terry McLaurin has rarely had. That doesn’t appear to be the issue any longer in Washington, even as the team ushers in a new gunslinger in Sam Howell.

Earlier in training camp, McLaurin had glowing reviews to share of Howell in practice.

“Yeah, to be honest, you really don’t even see him get flustered,” McLaurin said. “Even when he’s had a few rough patches during practice, he doesn’t hang his head. He’s not yelling, cussing, things like that. He stays pretty even-keeled, which is really unique for a young guy like that.

“Not only that, I think that struck me in the Dallas game because we had a turnover. But he still wasn’t afraid to push the ball down the field… I think with this being a passing league, you still gotta stay aggressive. It’s really cool to see a young guy who’s not afraid to continue to get his guys catches.”

Howell stood out in one half of action against Baltimore, completing 19-of-25 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.