Jayden Daniels was a ray of sunshine for a franchise accustomed to season-destroying storms. The second overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft made an immediate impact for the Washington Commanders. He was offensive rookie of the year as he led his team to a shocking spot in the NFC Championship Game.
Then, because the Commanders cannot have nice things, the problems piled up. Injury marred his 2025. Coupled with one of the league's worst defenses, Washington plummeted out of the playoffs with a 5-12 record.
Daniels was efficient in his team's 24-22 opening day loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He was primed to lead the Commanders in a shootout against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Then, disaster struck.
On third-and-goal on the final play of the first
half, Daniels took the snap under center. Before he could drop back, center Nick Allegretti stepped on his foot, forcing him to stumble backward. While he was still able to get a desperation throw off -- it fell incomplete -- he braced himself awkwardly with his left, non-throwing hand, causing his elbow to bend awkwardly and bringing trainers out onto the field.
here's how Jayden Daniels got hurt, and it is going to take generations to wash the Dan Snyder stink all the way off this team
— Christian D'Andrea (@trainisland.bsky.social) 2026-09-20T21:55:58.059Z
Daniels was carted off the field while players had already made their exit to the locker room for the mid-game break. He has been ruled out for the rest of Week 2.
Who is the Commanders backup QB if Daniels can't play?
Washington has one of the best backups in the league after re-signing Marcus Mariota to a one year, $7 million contract in the offseason. The former Heisman Trophy winner is capable of bringing high value replacement level play while keeping the dual threat pages of offensive coordinator David Blough's playbook open. Mariota was just 2-6 as a starter for the Commanders last season. However, his 0.072 expected points added (EPA) per dropback were 24th best among 37 qualified quarterbacks, just ahead of Daniels that season.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jayden Daniels injury update: What happened to the Commanders QB?
