With Terry McLaurin watching, Commanders’ offense struggles in scrimmage

Though McLaurin’s attendance did not necessarily indicate the gap between the sides has shrunk, his appearance reaffirmed his close bonds within the franchise. He fist-bumped offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury before practice. He stood with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. He talked with Peters, who laughed and patted McLaurin on the back at the end of their conversation.

When the scrimmage began, McLaurin walked across the field to stand on the Burgundy team’s sideline. He stood next to guard Sam Cosmi, who is on the physically unable to perform list. At the end of the scrimmage, McLaurin chatted with quarterback Jayden Daniels for several minutes before Mariota joined them.

Entering the final year of a contract that pays him $22.7 million by annual average, McLaurin remains out of practice as he seeks a contract extension. McLaurin believes he should be paid similarly to the best wideouts in the NFL, which would grant him an average annual salary north of $30 million. The Commanders appeared surprised by his asking price and so far have been unwilling to meet it, seemingly prioritizing long-term roster flexibility.

McLaurin, who declined to comment on his way off the field, is officially on the PUP list with an ankle injury, which means he does not need to pay fines. (McLaurin initially did not report to training camp and held out for four days, which cost him $200,000 in penalties as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement.) Coach Dan Quinn gave no indication when McLaurin may come off the PUP list.

“I don’t have any big updates for you as far as timelines go,” he said.

McLaurin’s absence has exposed the Commanders’ lack of depth at wideout, which was underscored again as Washington’s first-team defense shut out Daniels and Washington’s first-team offense over two “quarters” in Tuesday’s scrimmage. Quinn has tried to find a silver lining in McLaurin not playing, viewing it as a chance for other wideouts to gain experience. But no consistent options have emerged behind Deebo Samuel, with potential No. 3 option Noah Brown sidelined for most of training camp with an injury.

“You want everybody, as a coach, out on the field during practice, during a game,” Quinn said. “I also know that’s not reality.”

On the field, the Commanders’ defense was far ahead of their offense. It was a significant day of practice, probably the most gamelike snaps Daniels will take before Week 1. It was also Daniels’s worst day of practice this summer. The Commanders’ first-team offense scored no points in two quarters against their first-team defense and gained just a couple of first downs.

Daniels again had trouble connecting with wideouts in McLaurin’s absence, and he was under pressure all practice. But he was also uncharacteristically messy. On one play, Samuel sprinted past the defense and came wide open, only for Daniels to overthrow him. Daniels waved off a punt on a fourth and 10, then threw a checkdown to Samuel that had no chance of gaining a first down.

On the final possession, coaches awarded Daniels’s Burgundy team a first down just to even out the number of plays each team ran. “They tried to give them a little something,” defensive tackle Daron Payne said. “They still can’t score.” The Gold team triumphed, 14-0.

Quinn clearly got a kick out of the exercise, which included an official coin toss between “captains” Daniels and Josh Johnson. Here are other notes and observations from the game, an experiment Quinn plans to continue next season:

The defensive line shows its depth. The Commanders’ end-of-roster defensive line struggled in last week’s joint practice with the New England Patriots, but starters Javon Kinlaw and Payne dominated much of Tuesday’s practice against Washington’s top offensive line. Dorance Armstrong also supplied pressure against Daniels, and Von Miller tipped a pass.

Assistants get an opportunity. Quinn wanted to use the scrimmage to give assistant coaches opportunities at larger roles. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. coached the Burgundy team with pass game coordinator Brian Johnson and defensive backs coach Tommy Donatell calling offensive and defensive plays. Kingsbury, quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and defensive pass game coordinator Jason Simmons filled the roles for the Gold team.

The fire was real. As Quinn hoped, the scrimmage boosted the Commanders’ competitiveness in an otherwise monotonous portion of training camp. Players from opposing teams barked at one another all practice, and while they didn’t tackle to the ground, crunching hits filled the scrimmage.

As safety Will Harris celebrated an incompletion to tight end Zach Ertz, a flag flew for pass interference. Defensive tackle Sheldon Day came off the sideline and screamed in Harris’s face, “You can’t do that!”

“We got better mentally,” Kinlaw said. “Just knowing the combativeness with each other, that’s good. At the same time, we kept our composure as a team. It could have got worse. It could have been some scuffling going on, but it wasn’t.”

At times, the physicality tipped over the edge. Early in the scrimmage, wide receiver Luke McCaffrey caught a short pass from Daniels. As he sprinted upfield, cornerback Mike Sainristil leveled him with a hard shoulder to the midsection. McCaffrey stayed down for a minute but returned later. Quinn admonished Sainristil, but McCaffrey welcomed the contact.

“It’s just competitors being competitors,” McCaffrey said. “It gets you ready for games.”

The battle is on. Sam Hartman and Johnson, in competition for the third quarterback job, shared snaps for the Gold team. Hartman led two scoring drives; the first was highlighted by a long gain in which tight end Colson Yankoff flipped a lateral to running back Kazmeir Allen. Hartman later scrambled about 20 yards for a touchdown; he was sprung by a great downfield block from running back Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt did not participate. The rookie running back dressed but remained on the sideline to rest a minor shoulder injury he suffered in Friday’s preseason opener.

At this point, it’s like a broken record. Second-round rookie cornerback Trey Amos had a strong day. He swatted a pass intended for Michael Gallup and showed his ability to cling tight to receivers on deep patterns even when lining up tight to the line of scrimmage.

Also in the secondary, Jeremy Reaves, typically used as a special teams ace, has received ample playing time with the first-team defense during training camp, a sign of a potentially expanded role.

They’re wearing it well. Quinn gave the victorious Gold team T-shirts that read “ALL ASHBURN.” “I took mine to the house,” Kinlaw said. “I’m going to hang that one up above the bed. I worked for that one.”

He also would remind teammates from the Burgundy side which team won.

“Oh, yeah,” Kinlaw said. “I’m about to go in there and talk my s---.”

They were left on the sideline. Aside from Cosmi and McLaurin, seven players sat out practice. Brown, Mariota, offensive tackle Brandon Coleman, linebacker Jordan Magee, defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste and cornerback Bobby Price remained sidelined. Cornerback Jonathan Jones was a new addition to the list of players missing time with injury.