Commanders get odd trade question from ESPN after Terry McLaurin's injury image
The Washington Commanders are heading into their Week 7 bye, and there is some real concern about this team's standing right now.
Not only are they 1-4-1 on the year following a Monday Night Football loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but they've also lost star wide receiver Terry McLaurin for the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury.
In such a situation, this Commanders team would appear to be in a free fall. But ESPN's Dan Graziano revealed that he is "curious" to see if Washington will, following McLaurin's injury, try to trade for a WR despite the team's 1-4-1 record.
ESPN analyst wonders if Commanders will trade for a WR despite 1-4-1 record
"I'm curious to see whether Washington dips back into the wide receiver market in the wake of Terry McLaurin's injury," Graziano writes.
On paper, this would make absolutely no sense. The Commanders are 1-4-1, last place in a very weak NFC East, and there are plenty of questions about the roster even outside of the WR room without McLaurin.
However, Graziano believes that, with the Commanders only two games out of first place in the NFC East, "... it feels like jobs might be on the line in Washington, so they might decide they need to go for it."
This Commanders team is last place in the NFC East, and their record is one of the worst in the NFL. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Commanders act as sellers.
But with a wide-open NFC East, there is a path for the Commanders to make a serious run to the playoffs. The Dallas Cowboys have looked bad; the Philadelphia Eagles are dealing with a ton of injuries, including their starting QB.
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The Giants are also without their QB1, Jaxson Dart, and there are plenty of questions surrounding that Giants team. Even at 1-4-1, the Commanders have a chance of making the playoffs.
However, it's an uphill battle to do so, and unless they win both their games before the trade deadline prior to Week 10, the Commanders should really look to sell rather than buy.
Even if they believe they have a chance to make the playoffs, they shouldn't spend draft capital to improve the WR room.
Stefon Diggs, Antonio Williams, Treylon Burks, and Dyami Brown might be good enough, with tight end Chigozeim Okonkwo, to give Jayden Daniels a good-enough supporting cast.
While Graziano is curious to see if the Commanders will buy at the trade deadline, it would be a very odd decision, even if they have a chance of winning the NFC East.
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