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.”
