ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was not on the field Friday for the portion of practice open to the media as he deals with an injured left knee.
Daniels sat out practice on Wednesday and Thursday because of the knee, and his status for Sunday’s game against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders has been up in the air.
The reigning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was hurt in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 27-18 loss at the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. Daniels was sacked
four times and faced pressure throughout the game from a blitz-heavy Packers’ defense.
Coach Dan Quinn said earlier this week that Daniels was going through rehabilitation work on the knee and doing movement and throwing drills on his own. But Quinn said he would want to see Daniels participate in practice with teammates before letting him play on Sunday.
If Daniels is held out, backup Marcus Mariota is expected to make his first NFL start since 2022 with the Atlanta Falcons. Mariota appeared in relief of the starting QB in three games each in 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles and 2024 with Washington.
“We have the utmost confidence in him,” Quinn said about Mariota.
Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oregon, was with two other quarterbacks — Josh Johnson, who likely would be Mariota's backup if Daniels doesn't play, and practice squad member Sam Hartman — who were throwing on a field separate from the rest of the players at the start of Friday's practice.
Mariota was rested during this year’s training camp and preseason because of Achilles tendinitis and said that he’s felt back to normal for a couple of weeks now.
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