The Washington Commanders are struggling again. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is playing well again, aside from a couple of concentration issues and an ongoing elbow problem.
But are the Commanders in danger of wasting his window?
It's certainly easy to jump to that conclusion.
Commanders are in danger of wasting Jayden Daniels' rookie contract window
This is Year 3 of Daniels' rookie contract. This is the cheapest period to build around a first-year quarterback. Other areas can be strengthened without the urgency of tying up football's most important position.
After reaching the NFC Championship in Daniels' first season, everything was looking up.
Less than two seasons later, this team looks further from contending than ever.
Injuries have not helped, of course. That's a legitimate argument, and the Commanders can use it as a viable excuse.
However, that will only last for so long.
The Commanders don't have a good enough roster. Some moves have paid off, but general manager Adam Peters has also got a lot wrong. Daniels is trying hard to turn the tide, and he's raising his credentials along the way. Even so, one player cannot do it alone.
And with speculation rising about head coach Dan Quinn's future after the campaign, the Commanders could be embarking on more landmark changes if results don't improve.
Commanders' roster building will get much tougher after Jayden Daniels' extension
It's not ideal, of course. Daniels is up for an early extension after the campaign, which would make things much more expensive.
According to Spotrac, Daniels is projected to get a three-year, $159.93 million deal, averaging $53.31 million per season. That would rank him eighth among quarterbacks league-wide, making it harder to build a competitive roster around him.
Peters has shown financial restraint, knowing some big extensions are due. Daniels is the most important, and even though Year 4 on the deal will be relatively modest at $12.01 million, it will be the last season it's cheap.
This is a problem.
There is real urgency to make the roster better around Daniels. He's proven to be the franchise guy, and if he stays healthy the rest of the way, Washington would be wise to pay him what he's asking.
But that doesn't make it any less complicated to mold a team capable of challenging deep into the playoffs.
The Commanders relied too heavily on aging veterans in 2025. They kept faith with those who overachieved, and everything imploded. Peters adopted a different strategy this time around, but the progress just simply isn't there right now.
That could change. But if it doesn't, Peters will be forced into another rebuild with a new head coach and likely a new coordinator to place around Daniels.
It's a dangerous cycle. The schedule gets easier after the bye week, but the pressure to produce remains. Daniels has already proven he can drive this team forward, but doing that on more than $50 million per year is different from his $10.29 million cap hit this season.
Washington is in a precarious situation. Paying Daniels is easy; what comes next is the tricky part.
After such a promising start to this new regime, things are unraveling.
If this trend continues, their window on Daniels' rookie deal will be closed.
And the Commanders will have nothing to show for it.
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