After the Washington Commanders’ Week 4 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in London, head coach Dan Quinn updated everyone on injured backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.
“The team thinks it’s an MCL injury,” Quinn said. “When we get the scan tomorrow, we’ll have further knowledge of what we’re dealing with and length and all those.”
Mariota was injured on Washington’s second drive in the first quarter after he was sacked and a defender landed on his leg. The injury looked scary and potentially season-ending. However, on Monday, Quinn provided more context on Mariota’s injury, confirming it was a sprained MCL, the same injury he suffered in the first preseason game.
“Marcus sprained his MCL,” Quinn said on Monday. “It’s the same one that he injured
in training camp. Don’t have an exact timetable yet. We’ll know a little bit more after his return-to-play process, but he’ll be working off to the side as it goes through the next week or so.”
That’s terrific news for Mariota and the Commanders, considering it appeared much worse. Mariota missed around three weeks this summer with the same injury. Obviously, that doesn’t mean this one follows on the exact same timeline, but barring setbacks, it should be close. Washington plays the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers over the next two weeks before its Week 7 bye, which could line up Mariota for a Week 8 return.
As for starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, he’ll return to practice on Wednesday, as expected, and take all the reps.
“Yeah, the goal is for him to have a full week of practice, full week, and start on Sunday,” Quinn said.
No mystery there. Daniels will be in the lineup next week, three weeks after dislocating his left (non-throwing) elbow in Week 2 at Dallas. It’s the same elbow that Daniels dislocated last November.
Daniels returning for Week 5 was already the plan. This isn’t the Commanders panicking about possibly having to start rookie Athan Kaliakmanis against the Giants. Daniels was in London with the team last week, in his brace, to get some practice time before a full return this week.
It’s certainly been a tough year for Washington on the injury front, especially at quarterback, but all things considered, the Commanders have been fortunate with Daniels and Mariota.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders quarterback update: Latest on Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota
