Jayden Daniels is itching to get back into the mix. The Washington Commanders are proceeding with extreme caution after the superstar quarterback suffered a dislocated elbow against the Seattle Seahawks. Still, insider reports suggest he plans to play before the 2025 campaign concludes.
Daniels has made no secret of that. He's a competitive guy who wants to help his teammates once Washington's medical staff gives him the all-clear to participate on game days. When that'll be is anyone's guess, but it promises to be sooner rather than later.
Veteran backup Marcus Mariota has done an admirable job in Daniels' absence. That gives the Commanders the luxury of taking every possible precaution, especially playing for nothing other than pride. After all, there is no telling what the consequences would be if the signal-caller came back and reaggravated the problem amid a lost season.
Commanders will give Jayden Daniels a chance, but nothing is guaranteed
Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that Daniels has not yet been cleared for contact. He'll participate in practice this week heading into Washington's trip to the Minnesota Vikings, and it's clear that there are some significant hurdles to overcome before he suits up.
"Not yet. He's still going through that process of the functional testing, and so, I'll have a better sense as we go through the week, probably in terms of like the game, it'll be all the way until Friday, quite honestly, because the practice portions that'll be ongoing in terms of like the evaluation and the movements and the contact. So, he has not been for all the way through all the testing yet."Dan Quinn via Commanders.com
The Commanders are going to give Daniels a chance, at the very least. But reading between the lines, it could legitimately go either way right now.
Daniels needs to move with comfort. He was favoring the injured arm last week, so it'll be interesting to see if the same trend continues at practice this time around. Medics will need to be satisfied that there isn't any risk of additional damage. Then, there's the small matter of having to adapt his style of play slightly after some torrid injury problems in Year 2 of his professional career.
If Daniels can hit all these markers, he's got a shot. If not, then he'll be watching from the sidelines before attempting to make his way back for Washington's visit to the New York Giants in Week 15.
It's a wait-and-see scenario. But if the Commanders can't pick up some wins and Daniels is still out with three or four games left, that's when the debate about shutting him down will resume.
Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. And fans will be anxiously awaiting more developments.