Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels appeared to pick up an injury on a fourth-quarter tackle during Thursday night’s game against the Packers.
He didn’t leave the field and played all 69 of Washington’s offensive snaps in the 27-18 loss. The team evaluated his knee right after the game, per 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen, followed by an MRI on Friday morning.
The testing could just be precautionary, but it’s definitely a situation worth monitoring. Further reporting on the MRI results and Daniels’ practice status next week will be more indicative of a potential absence.
The Commanders have 10 days between their Week 2 and 3 contests, giving their star quarterback plenty of time to rest his knee. Should Daniels miss any time, No. 2 QB Marcus Mariota would start in his place with journeyman Josh Johnson elevated to a backup role.
Daniels started all 17 games as a rookie in 2024 with a 91% snap share. A rib injury – later revealed to be a fracture – knocked him out of the game in Week 7, but he didn’t miss any additional time. In fact, Daniels’ award-winning Hail Mary against the Bears came in the very next game with the 2024 No. 2 pick launching the ball downfield despite the rib injury.
After losing Austin Ekeler (Achilles) and Deatrich Wise (quad) to season-ending injuries on Thursday, the Commanders will be hoping that Daniels, by far their most important player, will not need to miss any time.
You just had to mention that Hail Mary pass didn’t you?…lol.
Guess the Commanders didn’t learn anything from RG lll as far as designing or allowing for a scheme of RPO’s that put a smallish QB like Daniels in peril via much larger guys looking to take his head off on a tackle……keep running and sooner or later Karma is knocking at your door via a tackler and good luck as far as him lasting in this scheme……tick…tick…tick….