At 1-3-1 and with rumors already swirling about Dan Quinn's job security, the Washington Commanders entered their Monday night showdown with the San Francisco 49ers at a crossroads. The good news is that they now have all the answers they need about this year's team. The bad news is that they aren't the answers anyone was hoping for.
Falling into a double-digit hole before the first quarter had even ended in at Levi's Stadium was bad enough. But then star wideout Terry McLaurin went down with a gruesome-looking knee injury that could well have put the rest of his season in jeopardy.
Terry McLaurin -
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 20, 2026
Subtle contact from Lenoir forced an awkward step with his left leg.
He was placed in an immobilizer and carted off of the field.
Concern for Left patellar tendon or quad injury primarily.
Lean that over ACL right now but either way it’s serious. pic.twitter.com/5Psc6Jdc0X
Based on how that looked, it's hard to imagine McLaurin returning this season. And if that is indeed the case — if an already-thin receiver group is down its clear-cut alpha — then there's simply no way that the Commanders are going anywhere serious in 2026. Which, with the trade deadline just three weeks away, means it's time to start talking fire sale.
Washington isn't overflowing with trade candidates. But they do have several veterans on expiring deals who could fetch draft capital in return between now and Nov. 10, starting with the five names below.
1. DT Daron Payne
- Contract status: Pending free agent
- Potential return: Early Day 3 pick
The writing was already on the wall here when Washington decline to broach a contract extension for Payne this past offseason. He's the team's largest cap hit, and he'll hit the open market next spring. Payne may not be the game-wrecker he was a few years ago, but he's still a valuable penetrator on the interior, and that's a skill set that plenty of contenders could use down the stretch.
2. EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson
- Contract status: Pending free agent
- Potential return: Day 3 pick
The Commanders targeted Chaisson in free agency this past offseason after a bit of a breakout season with the Patriots, and he's been largely as advertised on the edge. He's hardly a game-wrecker, but he's a former first-round pick who's still just 27 years old. The arrow is still pointing up here, and he has the sort of athleticism that defenses covet (and that can help win playoff games). If you wanted to argue for him being a bit higher on this list, I wouldn't push back too much.
3. LB Frankie Luvu
- Contract status: Pending free agent
- Potential return: Day 3 pick
Sonny Styles can't fully replicate Luvu's skill set, especially as a blitzer, but his rapid ascent as a rookie certainly makes it easier for Washington to part with him — especially considering he'll be a free agent at season's end. He's on the wrong side of 30 now, and it's clear that he's lost a step from his prime. Still, he could have value to a creative defensive coordinator — Brian Flores, anyone? — and he's clearly not part of the future in D.C.
4. WR Stefon Diggs
- Contract status: Pending free agent
- Potential return: Day 3 pick
Diggs has had a hard time staying on the field this year, but when healthy he's still be a pretty reliable possession option; he's a year removed from a 1,000-yard season with the Patriots, after all. Of course, he comes with off-field concerns that are well-documented, and that could complicate the prospect of introducing him to a new locker room in the middle of a playoff push. But with so many teams in desperate need of receiver help right now, someone's bound to take a flier on a savvy veteran with route-running chops.
5. EDGE Dorance Armstrong
- Contract status: Pending free agent
- Potential return: Day 3 pick
Armstrong clearly isn't all the way back from the ACL injury that cut short a promising season in 2025. He's much more of a rotational guy at this point in his career. That said, he did have 5.5 sacks in just seven games last year and has posted at least five in every season since 2021, and teams are always looking for pass rushers they can deploy late in playoff games. Armstrong is solid against the run and getting after the quarterback, which should merit at least a late Day 3 pick.
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