Commanders' Terry McLaurin injury news puts Tyreek Hill in play

Sports admin October 20, 2026 0 Comments

Commanders’ Terry McLaurin injury news puts Tyreek Hill in play

Coming into the game, Washington was finally getting healthy. After playing most of the season with one of either quarterback Jayden Daniels or wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs injured, all three were available for the Commanders’ Monday Night Football matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

But before the first quarter was over, McLaurin, along with the Commanders’ chances of winning, were out of the game. McLaurin fell to the ground and grabbed his left knee late in the first quarter. His leg was immobilized with an air cast, and he was carted off the field.

The team hasn’t made any announcements, but the injury didn’t look good, prompting online speculation that McLaurin’s season could be over.

Also read:Myles Garrett gets NFL warning ahead of injury update

If that is the case, Washington will need to add a player to a wide receiver room that was already thin coming into the season. But if they are looking for some outside help, the options aren’t pretty.

Tyreek Hill tops list of available WR free agents

The available pool of free agent wide receivers is naturally thin going into Week 7, as most of the good ones have teams already. But here are the top wideouts available should Adam Peters, Washington Commanders general manager, be in the market for one.

Tyreek Hill
Darius Slayton
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Curtis Samuel
Zay Jones
Gabe Davis
- source: Sharp Football Analysis

Of those names, Tyreek Hill is by far the most intriguing with his career 11,363 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns. Before his devastating knee injury last year, Hill was known as one of the fastest wide receivers the NFL has ever seen.

Related: Commanders must find a way to put ebarrassing tie behind them

But Hill dislocated his knee and tore his ACL four games into the 2025 season, so there could be a chance that he is no longer the speedster he was before the injury. Plus, Hill was recently found liable for two counts of battery against his estranged wife.

So any team that signs him will have to contend with the possibility that he will be suspended by the league for violating the personal conduct policy. NFL insider Jordan Schultz recently said that it is ¨more likely he’s suspended first before he signs.¨

With thin free agent options and a thin roster, the last place Washington can look is their practice squad.

Washington has internal options

The Commanders could also look internally to fill McLaurin’s vacancy.

Van Jefferson is the most accomplished of the Commanders’ practice squad options. He is in his seventh season and has over 2,200 yards receiving in the 94 games he has played in his career. But he is 4+ seasons removed from his career-high of 50 receptions in 2021.

They also have second-year undrafted receiver Nick DeGennaro and rookie wideout Jaden Bradley out of UNLV, who could potentially be elevated.

But really, the most obvious answer to replace McLaurin is already on the roster.

Washington drafted rookie Antonio Williams out of Clemson early in the third round. He’s a speedster with good hands, but he has been unable to break out so far this year. His first game was his best, with 4 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. For the season, he has just 155 yards and that 1 touchdown on 15 receptions.

Related: 49ers’ 5-0 start proves that ‘off the field distractions’ are overrated

Treylon Burks, the team’s fourth receiver, will also have to pick up the slack.

Both came up big in the second half of Washington’s loss against the 49ers. Williams had 3 receptions for 51 yards, including a critical 3rd down conversion in the fourth quarter, while Burks had four receptions for 66 yards.

However, Burks did drop a fourth down pass from Daniels that would have potentially put the Commanders in position to win the game.

The Commanders won’t be able to replace McLaurin’s role on the team, but if they want a chance to keep their season afloat, they will probably have to look to players already on the roster to get it done.