TL;DR
- Washington Commanders' 2025 season is grim with a 3-8 record, four games out of playoff contention.
- Key players QB Jayden Daniels (elbow) and WR Terry McLaurin (quad) are returning to practice.
- Despite improbable playoff chances, their return offers hope for a stronger finish to the season.
The Washington Commanders have seen a decline in 2025. Their record stands at 3-8, placing them four games behind a playoff position and 14th in the overall NFC standings. The outlook appears grim.
However, the latest injury updates coming out of D.C. Mean their season is not dead. Not quite yet.
There are many reasons for the Commanders' regression in 2025. Among them is a defense that was good because of its "experience" last year has quickly aged from "experienced" to "over-the-hill".
However, the most apparent reason is their QB1, Jayden Daniels, has been sidelined for several weeks following a severe elbow dislocation sustained by the second-year standout against the Seahawks in early November.
His primary associate in the training room during this entire period has been WR1 Terry McLaurin. The wide receiver has been sidelined for all but four games this year due to a quad problem he's contending with.
A struggling defense and a hobbled offense. This paints a bleak outlook for Dan Quinn's squad. However, that outlook is beginning to improve, and at the eleventh hour. Quinn revealed that not only is Daniels back practicing (though he's not cleared for contact and is a “long shot” for Week 13's game), but Scary Terry has also rejoined the team on the field.
“It wasn’t like a full-speed, hauling ass day but that’s kind of what we’re hoping the progression for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday looks like for he and some of his teammates. But yeah, he’s really worked hard, so to see us take the next step, we’ll see where it takes us, but it was awesome to have him out there today.”
Dan Quinn on seeing Terry McLaurin (quad) on the practice field today.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) November 24, 2025
Today was a light session. Gearing up for the main practices later in the week pic.twitter.com/1nJNne8MbA
Both of their offensive Pro Bowl selections from 2024 have returned to the practice field. However, as Quinn noted, they still face obstacles to overcome before they can resume full-speed and game-like activities.
While a playoff berth appears improbable now, one can never be certain. Should Marcus Mariota, starting in Week 13, manage a home victory against the 9-2 Broncos this week, they'll face the struggling Vikings and Giants in the subsequent two weeks.
Subsequently, they'll be hoping a couple of teams currently in playoff contention falter, or they'll enter their final three weeks facing the Cowboys and Eagles, aiming to be significant spoilers if a division title is still on the line.
Either way, Daniels and McLaurin taking this big step suggests the Commanders could be in for some fun times to finish the season after having “been through some sh*t”, as Quinn put it on Monday, through the first 12 weeks of the 2025 campaign.