After not playing in the Washington Commanders’ preseason opener, starting quarterback Jayden Daniels made his preseason debut in Washington’s loss to the Detroit Lions. Daniels only played on the Commanders’ first drive of the game and that is the only action the coaching staff wanted him to have in this game.
“It’s tough, but it goes with the business now,” Daniels said. “Understanding that I’m going into year three now. So, understand I can’t play [all] 60-plus plays in the preseason game. The main goal is week one and the games after that. So, you’re just trying to build up, ramp up and try to knock out the rust here and there. From there, you go out there and trust your coaching.”
In his only drive so far in the preseason, Washington went
three-and-out. He only attempted one pass on first down, but it was incomplete, and he was sacked on second down, which is why the Commanders chose to run the ball on third down to prevent their quarterback from getting hit again. Daniels felt it was a good opportunity to get back on the field during the preseason, especially because the intensity is different in a preseason game versus a joint practice.
“It was just good to get back out there and play football again. It’s been a little over eight months since I played live football,” Daniels said. “It was just good to go out operationally out there, live bullets. I mean, joint practice is great … It’s a different type of urgency when you’re going against someone else that is live. So, it was good to get back out there and like I said, play football once again.”
Washington will conclude the preseason against the Baltimore Ravens this coming Friday. It is not anticipated that Daniels or any of the starters will play in this game, as head coach Dan Quinn does not usually play starters in the final preseason game. Daniels and the starters will get more action with next week's joint practice two days before the preseason finale.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: What did Commanders QB Jayden Daniels say about playing only one series vs. Lions?
