Jayden Daniels dragged into escalating Kliff Kingsbury fallout after wild claim

The 2025 season didn't go remotely as planned for Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.

A year after winning 12 games and reaching the NFC Championship game in the star quarterback's rookie year, the Commanders went 5-12. Daniels appeared in only seven contests and finished only four due to numerous frustrating injury problems.

Plenty of blame can be tossed around, and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was a popular source of it. Washington ended up parting ways with him at the conclusion of the season due to a disagreement over philosophy. The Commanders replaced him with coach David Blough, who has no NFL play-calling experience.

For Daniels, it was a stunning decision to move on from a coach with whom he had built such a strong rapport. He undoubtedly wishes the situation had played out differently and admitted as much during a media interview at the Super Bowl festivities.

Jayden Daniels should not feel responsible for Kliff Kingsbury's demise with Commanders

In turn, this led to some impressive conclusion-jumping by The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan, who insinuated that Daniels probably feels largely responsible for Kingsbury's demise in Washington.

Daniels was interviewed by Mike Florio and Chris Simms of Pro Football Talk about Kingsbury and gave a fairly generic answer. He repeatedly mentioned that it was "tough" to lose his former offensive coordinator because of their relationship, but that he trusts the organization's decision and is excited to work with Blough.

The former LSU star owes his share of accountability for his Year 2 struggles, but he shouldn't beat himself up too much over it. Claiming that he is in some way responsible after playing so little makes no sense at all. Things may have been different had Daniels played a full season, but it's also worth remembering how Kingsbury's scheme gets figured out the longer he stays with a club. That is common knowledge.

Every young player has to face harsh realities in the NFL at some point. Daniels is no different. Now, the hope is that Blough can help him overcome his setbacks and return to his electric rookie form. And this all starts by putting the scheme in place to maximize his exceptional gifts.

If Daniels does feel that way, he certainly shouldn't. If anything, Kingsbury was the one who put him in harm's way by repeatedly abandoning the run game and forcing him to do too much, which contributed to his injuries.

Kingsbury's offense struggled to generate separation in the receiving game as it did in 2024, and his situational play-calling left much to be desired. Daniels doesn't take the blame for that; not by a long shot.