Commanders Terry McLaurin 'Building Trust' With Sam Howell
Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin has seen a revolving door of quarterbacks over the last few seasons. Last year it was Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke, and now it's Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.
As the Commanders are in the middle of two joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens (one already being completed), McLaurin likes where the chemistry and trust between him and Howell is right now and feels it's been building nicely.
“You know, I definitely think it has," McLaurin said. "We're still in the middle of camp, and we still got some preseason to go, but I feel like we're building a little bit of that trust where you get some one-on-one opportunity, he's gonna trust me to come down and make that play and, as myself, I just wanna continue to give him that trust. You know, when you're going against a great corner like Marlon Humphrey, and you're backside one-on-one, you gotta win those reps so he can have that confidence in you.”
With the Commanders going against a different defense for just the second time this preseason (the first one against the Cleveland Browns in their first preseason game), it is a nice change of pace for the players.
But going against Mike McDonald's stout defense is a tough test. Ranking third in the NFL for points allowed last season (18.5 per game), things didn't come easy to the Washington offense.
For McLaurin, he came away with one overriding thought on Howell during the first joint practice of the preseason.
“His timing, I felt was really good with us today," McLaurin said. "As soon as we were getting out of our breaks, all of the receivers, the ball was right there, and it gave us a chance to run with it as well. So, I think he did a great job even when he had to improvise and roll out a little bit to still keep his eyes downfield and continue to give us the chance to make plays. So he's been the same guy since we started camp, since he stepped in at the last game last year. He's just really poised.”
The Commanders have put all their eggs in Howell's basket for this season, and while Brissett is there for "competition," the thought it the starting job is Howell's to lose.
With a decent outing against the Browns and now against the Ravens, Howell seems to be grabbing his chance with both hands and, in the process, is developing a nice wavelength with the most dangerous weapon at his disposal ... Scary Terry.
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