Jayden Daniels was supposedly kept out after falling on his injured elbow against the Minnesota Vikings due to precautionary measures. Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn held him out despite the quarterback receiving clearance to return. But all is not what it seemed at the time.
Daniels did, in fact, reaggravate the problem. He's already been ruled out for Week 15 against the New York Giants, and calls to shut him down for the campaign are now deafening.
It's hard to deny that the Commanders have mismanaged this situation with their franchise player. Just how much pressure Daniels is putting on the coaching staff to feature is anyone's guess, but this cannot go on for much longer.
Dan Quinn didn't speculate on Commanders' future stance with Jayden Daniels
Scott Abraham from 7News DC flipped the script on Quinn during his Wednesday media availability. The reporter asked the coach whether he saw any benefit in shutting down the former LSU standout for the final four games. And as expected, he dodged the answer by saying a whole lot of nothing.
"We haven't gone down that road yet. He's out this week and working hard to get back, but as far as what decisions are ahead, I just haven't gone down that road. He's working really hard to get back with the guys. So, we're really bummed he got reaggravated on this specific injury. Going into it, thought he had a good week. There were things to improve upon getting into the game to get started, but we haven't gotten down all the way yet. We went through the first evaluations this week. I'll have a better update moving forward."Scott Abraham
The Jayden Daniels debate.
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) December 10, 2025
For weeks head coach Dan Quinn has talked about the benefits for Jayden to keep playing this season.
Today, I flipped it. I asked DQ if he sees any benefit to Jayden sitting the rest of the season.
His answer ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8KIKwFbfKI
Coach-speak at its finest. However, Commanders fans can see through it, especially given how things have gone for the team this season.
Daniels has been riddled with injury problems this season. It was a low-grade hamstring strain. He's also suffered a knee sprain. And then, the dislocated elbow. He got away with the first two, but fighting to prove his fitness in advance came back to bite him in the third instance.
The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is still practicing in a limited capacity. Daniels won't take being sat down well. But sometimes, doing something for the greater good is what's best for everyone involved.
It's a mess. It's a microcosm of how things have gone for the Commanders this season. It's also why the prospect of taking Daniels out of the firing line to focus on getting healthy for 2026 seems likelier now than ever.
Dangling the carrot for fans is not going to cut it anymore. They can see what's going on, and no amount of deflecting from Quinn will change that fact.
It's time for genuine transparency. Nothing more, nothing less.