Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury warned everyone before the season

For Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, the problems of 2025 started well before the first game.

Kingsbury had put together an incredible Commanders offense throughout the 2024 season. But the obstacles of the 2025 season started early for his offense.

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Starting receiver Terry McLaurin wanted a contract extension. His agent, Buddy Baker of Exclusive Sports Group, and McLaurin were confident they would succeed. When rookie training camp began on July 18, McLaurin and the Commanders still weren’t close. McLaurin decided to publicly express his frustration in a 30-minute press conference in which he essentially tried to convince local media that he was the victim and the commanders were the bad guys.

Camp began July 22 without McLaurin. First he held on, then he held on, so he could get paid. But McLaurin and the Commanders disagreed, and Kingsbury was asked Thursday how that affected Jayden Daniels and McLaurin’s season together on offense.

“Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lot of time to work together,” Kingsbury said. Kingsbury, to his credit, was the only coach willing to publicly express what no one else was during training camp. It was good to have McLaurin in the meetings, but, as Kingsbury said, what was really needed was time together on the turf, developing chemistry and timing in the passing game.

Kingsbury proved prophetic, knowing what he was talking about. He knew the offense would suffer. On August 25, McLaurin signed a three-year extension in which he would receive guaranteed money only for the 2026 season. But in the first game the offense struggled and against the Packers in week two they looked completely lost.

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“I think it was the second match, Jayden was eliminated, and then Terry was eliminated shortly after,” Kingsbury said. “But yeah, they really had a great relationship the year before.”

Daniels was injured late in the second game and McLaurin was injured the following week. Daniels’ season has been a story of repeated injuries, getting injured in four games and playing in only seven. McLaurin was injured in two games himself, missing a total of seven games, as the Commanders head to the final against the Eagles.

Kingsbury is on its third quarterback, Josh Johnson. But he’s hopeful, thinking about next season and the return of Daniels and McLaurin. “It’s just more time to work together, I don’t think it’s going to take a lot of time. They’re two great players that are going to elevate everyone that they have around them. And so, I think they’ll elevate each other like they did the year before and continue to work well.”

The Commanders could certainly benefit from a 2026 offseason with Kingsbury, Daniels and McLaurin on the same page.

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This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Cliff Kingsbury was right all along