Why is Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels practicing this week?
Why was Jayden Daniels speaking with the media following practice on Thursday? Daniels' responses were uncharacteristically brief; I wondered if Daniels was 'coached' to provide very succinct answers to the media. It was strange; it was clear he intended to say little to nothing, and he didn’t actually say much of anything. But Daniels was so succinct, so brief, it was useless for him to be there.
With one question, Daniels shook his head, repeatedly indicating ‘no,’ and only responded with, “Nope, nope, nope, nope and nope." What was that? This isn’t the Daniels we normally see at press conferences. It was not a good look and was clearly not the Daniels we are accustomed
to seeing on camera.
Jayden Daniels might actually play this Sunday pic.twitter.com/nSwo98DYH7
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) October 1, 2026
Daniels in one of those ‘Nope’ responses was actually responding to a question about handing off the ball. Well, we already observed for ourselves that Daniels can’t extend the left arm fully in that brace. So yes, there is an adjustment that Daniels will need to make in handing off the ball on running plays. Yet, he still responded, ‘Nope.’
And why was Daniels there in the first place? Marcus Mariota, last week’s starter, had already spoken with the media and fielded their questions on Wednesday. Additionally, Mariota appeared in a normal mood, interacting normally as he does with the media.
Is this simply Dan Quinn hoping to make the Colts spend extra time preparing for both Marcus Mariota and Jayden Daniels? I mean, if Quinn was really going to start Daniels, wouldn’t Daniels be doing most of the work, and he’d say he was going to play?
Video of Daniels at practice shows that he clearly can’t fully extend his left arm in that brace. It is designed to function in such a manner, prohibiting him from a full extension, which is where the elbow has twice previously been dislocated when fully extending.
Daniels is out there doing individual quarterback drills because the Commanders want Daniels to get in good work this week. But not to prepare him for this week against the Colts, but to better prepare him for the Week 5 game against the New York Giants. The thinking might be as simple as: how can we keep him actively practicing quarterbacking skills so he doesn’t become rusty?
Whatever the thinking, the performance, or lack thereof, with the media by Daniels on Thursday was not a good look.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: What was going on with Commanders' Jayden Daniels on Thursday?
