The Washington Commanders are about to announce their recovery plan for quarterback Jayden Daniels. His dislocated elbow was a body blow, and even though the X-rays revealed no fracture, there is obviously other damage worthy of examination.
Head coach Dan Quinn said earlier this week that Daniels spent a couple of days with specialists, getting imaging and developing a concise plan of attack with medical staff and other experts in the field. The Arizona State product won't be under center this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks, and several insiders are expecting him to miss several weeks.
A lot of unknowns remain right now.
The Commanders haven't disclosed much information. That hasn't stopped fans and analysts from debating the next step and, in Quinn's case, placing blame where it isn't really deserved.
Daniels will be eager to play. He is highly competitive, and the signal-caller missed a lot of time last season, too. This is a deeply disappointing development, and if the Commanders don't salvage something over a difficult stretch of upcoming games, that may also change the dynamic.
Everyone has an opinion. Some have even written off Daniels as an injury-prone franchise player who cannot be depended upon. That's a little far-fetched, but the next few weeks and months will have massive ramifications nonetheless.
With this in mind, here are three likely scenarios facing the Commanders for his return-to-play plan.
Washington Commanders scenarios for Jayden Daniels' dislocated elbow recovery plan
Short-term injured reserve
Jayden Daniels won't like it, but placing him on short-term injured reserve takes some pressure off. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport revealed that the Washington Commanders hope the quarterback doesn't have to go to the shelf, but it is something they should consider.
Daniels pushed to play last season, and he paid the price. One could say he came back too early against the Minnesota Vikings. A hard fall later on in the contest aggravated the injury, and he was done for the year after that.
It's not ideal, of course. But a four-week period of rest and rehabilitation takes him out of the spotlight, avoiding questions about whether he will play from week to week.
If everything goes well after that, Daniels can be designated to return and get back to throwing the football. He'll have to wear a brace when he returns, but at least he'll have given the elbow a firm rest period before re-evaluating when the time comes.
This won't improve the Commanders' chances of gaining success in the coming games. But with a relatively early bye in Week 7, Daniels could miss only three contests.
That wouldn't be the worst news in the circumstances.
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