Jayden Daniels won't play for the Washington Commanders again in 2025. It's been a turbulent campaign for the franchise quarterback, but those in power have finally taken drastic measures to prevent long-term damage.
It was a power struggle in the end. And there was only going to be one winner.
You had Daniels, who is highly competitive, desperate to play and help his teammates. You had head coach Dan Quinn, who is player-centric and wants to salvage something from a lost campaign. You also had general manager Adam Peters, whom fans believe may have forced the issue to protect his investment.
Commanders shutting down Jayden Daniels reeks of Adam Peters' influence
Something changed in recent days. Daniels hasn't been cleared for contact yet and is unlikely to be before Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. With a Christmas Day clash versus the Dallas Cowboys coming after that, those in power decided not to drag this on for much longer.
Quinn acknowledged that it was a partly medical and partly team decision. The coach also revealed that Peters was part of the meeting that informed Daniels he would be shut down for the rest of 2025. That is significant.
Fans have suggested that Peters could have pulled rank to keep Daniels out of the firing line. Quinn preached the importance of live-fire reps for his quarterback at a relatively early stage of his development. The front-office leader clearly had other ideas in light of this seismic shift.
Daniels will still practice with the team, but he won't play. He'll hopefully keep progressing and getting healthy. He'll also be tasked with providing support to veteran Marcus Mariota, who's taking charge under center the rest of the way.
It's not ideal, but keeping the bigger picture in mind was crucial.
Daniels suffered knee and hamstring injuries before dislocating his elbow against the Seattle Seahawks. This was surprising for a player who's been highly durable throughout his college and NFL career, but there is just no telling what the repercussions would be if he took the field and got hurt again.
In the end, the Commanders concluded it wasn't worth the risk. They are still fighting, but they are not playing for much in the grand scheme of things. Things would probably be different if Washington were sitting at 10-4 rather than 4-10, but they're not.
It's that simple.
Peters knows how integral Daniels is to the Commanders' chances of becoming a contender again. If getting involved to save the player from himself was the best way to retain this outlook, it could be a small price to pay in the end.