1:03am: A bit of overnight clarity has emerged here. Daniels is believed to have sustained a dislocated left elbow, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. While the star quarterback is not certain to be done for the season, Schefter notes he is out indefinitely. An MRI is scheduled for Monday.
11:10pm: Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels appeared to suffer a significant left arm injury in Sunday night’s game against the Seahawks.
Team medical staff quickly put an air cast on Daniels’ arm. The cart came out onto the field, but he was able to walk off under his own power. Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed in his postgame presser that Daniels injured his left elbow and said that he would provide an update once he knows more.
Despite a 38-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, Daniels was still in the game when a sack by Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas caused his elbow to bend in an unnatural direction. Quinn will surely get criticized for leaving his star quarterback in the game, especially if Daniels’ injury results in an extended absence
Backup Marcus Mariota finished the game, a loss that drops the Commanders to 3-6. Their playoff chances are now just 5%, according to The Athletic, and if Daniels is sidelined, their odds will be even slimmer. Missing the postseason would be a disappointing result for a Commanders squad that made a surprise run to the NFC championship game last season and seemed poised to build on that success this year.
The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Daniels headlined a deep quarterback class by soaring to the top rookie award on his side of the ball. He then piloted the Commanders to the conference title game, the franchise’s first appearance since its 1991 Super Bowl-winning season. The follow-up effort has skidded well off track.
Daniels entered Sunday night having missed time because of two previous injuries this season. Missing Week 8 with a hamstring injury, Daniels was down in Weeks 3 and 4 because of a knee malady. The Commanders have not used IR on their starting QB yet, but it would not surprise — especially after the team lost its sixth game — to see him moved off the roster to foster a smooth recovery. The team re-signed Mariota on a one-year, $8MM deal this offseason. After zero starts in 2024, the 11th-year veteran will almost definitely be needed for another QB1 stint.
Crazy that he was still out there given the score and his injury history. I’d imagine he’s going to be out a significant amount of time if not the rest of the season, even though it was his non-throwing arm. That looked bad.
Down 38-7 in the fourth quarter, he shouldn’t have been on the field. Even if you make the score closer, it’s risk versus potential reward. Scoring there touchdowns in a quarter is a lot to ask, and that still would have left them down 10 points. I wouldn’t do it publicly but, if I’m the owner, someone is going to be explaining that decision to me tomorrow morning.
I agree. Quinn did a great job last year but given where they are this year (now 3-6 with a tough remaining schedule), the decision to have Daniels still out there would have me thinking about firing him. Unless Mariota balls out, this injury effectively ends their season. Daniels was already nursing a hamstring injury, why is he on the field?
To be fair it’s likely their season was done anyways. Still shouldn’t have had Daniels out there though.
He decided to run, that is on him. They didn’t call a qb run, they called a pass
That was brutal
They replayed it. His bone was poking through the skin
Dudes cooked this year. Thank god it was not his throwing arm
Through *against
damn sucks . he’s a good QB but his injuries are building up and he will end up getting injury prone tab like Tua
Almost as stomach churning as Joe Theismans leg. They should be taught how to take a wrestling slam. Spread your back out flat as possible to spread the impact, and tuck your head to avoid concussions. Throwing an arm out is never a good idea, and doing so while a 300 lbs man is about to land on you is going to be a disaster. I hope he’s going to be okay, but man it looked bad when it happened.
In my best Randy Macho Man Savage voice: “Wrestling slam…OH YEEEAH!”
I wonder how much they didn’t play Jayden in the preseason factored into keeping him out there during the blowout. It was as if they wanted him to get more live reps since he had also missed significant time due to his previous injuries this season. In retrospect, it certainly seemed crazy to have kept him on the field so late in this loss. The Commanders atrocious defense is another major area of concern.
Where are all the people who said that Daniels was so much better than Caleb last year? Funny how a year makes a whole lot of difference in the NFL.
He was much better last year, and he’s probably still better this year, he’s just consistently injured (which is something a lot of people that were lower on him coming out, had legit concerns about). Daniels can be good and Caleb can be encouraging, it’s not either or.
hard to credit them saying its a “legitimate” concern when they just say that about every QB who is black and can run.