When Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow against the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 2, 2025, the rehab and treatment plan was simple.
But now that he has suffered the same gruesome-looking injury again, this time on Sunday, Sept. 20, against the Dallas Cowboys, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year has a hefty decision to confront, according to orthopedic surgeons who specialize in elbow injuries. Daniels must weigh whether to surgically repair the issue, which would effectively end his season, or to rehabilitate it as he did last year.
“He’s going to have some tough choices to make,” Houston Methodist Hospital’s Dr. David Litner told USA TODAY Sports.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said X-rays for Daniels came
back negative, which means he avoided bone damage for a second time. Dislocations that occur without bone damage are referred to as “simple” and almost never require surgery. But dislocations result in ligament damage, which creates residual looseness and instability in the affected area, Litner said.
“They’re thinking ‘Well, will surgery be able to solve this?’” NYU Langone sports orthopedic surgeon Dr. Laith Jazrawi, who specializes in the shoulder and elbow, told USA TODAY Sports.
How Jayden Daniels injured his elbow
Daniels tripped while falling backward and landed in a “textbook way” for how elbow dislocations occur – falling with force and the arm landing in a supinated position, Dr. Francis Alberta said.
“It’s actually drawn that way in all our books,” Alberta, who is an orthopedic surgeon at Hackensack Meridian in New Jersey, told USA TODAY Sports.
Although the research and data in this particular area isn’t prolific, Alberta said, recurrence rates for elbow dislocations are low. Litner said for that type of impact to result in a dislocation, “it makes you think maybe those ligaments just didn’t heal as securely as he would have hoped.”
Re-dislocation is extremely rare in athletes, Alberta said, the more common side effect is stiffness.
“I think it’s important to understand that this is really unusual and the recurrence rates are really low,” Alberta said.
Will wearing an elbow brace help Jayden Daniels?
Jazrawi said he didn’t fault Daniels or the Commanders’ medical team for the quarterback not wearing a brace, since he’d been fully cleared and healthy. The concern now, as Daniels continues to meet with specialists on Tuesday and Wednesday, is the extent of the damage beyond the inside ligament and potentially to the capsule.
That the injury affects Daniels’ non-throwing side also changes the dynamics of the decision.
“Thank God,” Jazrawi said. “It would be a totally different management scheme.”
A lot has of that plan will be guided by Washington’s risk tolerance, as well as Daniels’ own pain management. Pro Football Hall of Famer and NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner said on "NFL Live" that Daniels could play through the injury, as he did in 2007 with the Arizona Cardinals, if he wanted.
But it's not that simple.
“He will have this mechanism happen again, to him, when he falls,” Jazrawi said. “And now that it’s happened to him twice, I think there will be a lot more discussion, depending on what the MRI shows, of potentially stabilizing this.”
Jayden Daniels elbow injury treatment options, according to experts
The psychological aspect of the injury is another factor. Alberta, who watched Daniels’ injury happen in real time because he was watching the game (and is a Cowboys fan), noted that a significant part of what separates Daniels among his peers is his mobility and running capabilities.
“Maybe he doesn’t take off as soon as he would normally because he’s worried ‘If I take the wrong hit or land the wrong way, my elbow’s gonna come out,’” Alberta said.
The expertise of the Commanders’ medical staff, and Daniels’ own preference, will guide the final decision – with the goal of gaining confidence upon return regardless of the treatment plan.
Had this occurred on his right arm, surgery would be the immediate move, according to the experts. But the circumstances have supplied Daniels and the Commanders with options.
“Can we brace him? It’s his non-throwing arm,” Jazrawi wondered. “These are all possibilities, and getting him through to the end of the season and then getting it surgically fixed, if they decide surgery is (necessary).”
Last year, Daniels returned after a month off only to re-aggravate the injury in his first action back; Washington shut him down for the final four games of the campaign.
"It didn’t work,” Litner said. “So, he either just had a freak, duplicate episode or his ligaments didn’t heal as tightly as he wanted. So now the decision-making becomes more complex.”
Strengthening the muscles and ligaments around the elbow and wearing a brace are his options moving forward if he doesn’t immediately have surgery and wants to play through the injury for the rest of this season.
“Maybe he ends up having the surgery now, maybe after the season or maybe they manage it non-surgically and he does well the rest of the season so they defer surgery again,” Litner said. “It’s not a black and white injury like an ACL (tear) type.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Jayden Daniels need elbow surgery? Experts explain 'unusual' reinjury
