Jayden Daniels Dislocates Left Elbow Again, Commanders Lose to Cowboys in Week 2

Jayden Daniels went down on the final play of the first half against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 20, and the Washington Commanders' season went with him.

With Washington a yard from the end zone and three seconds left before halftime, head coach Dan Quinn called a play instead of kicking a field goal while trailing 17-10, according to NBC News. Daniels' legs got tangled with his own offensive line as he dropped back, and he reached out with his left arm to brace his fall. The elbow bent the wrong way. Newsweek reported the mechanism involved a teammate stepping on Daniels' feet after the snap, while Fox News described it simply as Daniels tripping and catching himself.

Daniels stayed down as the clock expired, then was carted to the locker room with a towel draped over his head, according to USA Today. Quinn told reporters after the game that Daniels suffered a left elbow dislocation, that X-rays showed no fracture, and that Daniels would travel home with the team and undergo further imaging on Monday, September 21.

The same elbow, again

This is not new territory for Daniels or the Commanders. He dislocated the same left elbow on November 2, 2025, against the Seattle Seahawks, an injury Quinn later said he regretted not preventing by pulling Daniels from a blowout loss sooner. "I've been thinking about it nonstop too and, man, I missed it," Quinn told reporters at the time. "That is 100% on me."

Daniels avoided surgery on that injury, missed three games, then returned in Week 14 against Minnesota, only to aggravate the elbow again. Washington shut him down for the final three weeks of the season. He finished 2025 having played just seven games while also dealing with a knee sprain and hamstring strain.

Dr. David Chao, a former NFL team physician who reviewed Sunday's tape for OutKick, wrote on X that the video showed "a clear left elbow dislocation" and noted that a joint "comes out easier" a second time because the original ligament tear heals "looser." That assessment, if it holds up after Monday's imaging, is the central concern for Washington: not whether Daniels can play through pain, but whether the joint itself is now structurally unreliable.

What happens next

Marcus Mariota took over at quarterback and threw a touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in the second half, according to Newsweek, which reported Dallas had built a 37-20 lead in the fourth quarter. Washington ultimately lost the game, dropping to 0-2 after also falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, according to riggosrag.

Behind Mariota, the Commanders' depth chart is thin. USA Today reported that seventh-round rookie Kaliakmanis is the emergency third-string option, while Sam Hartman, an undrafted free agent now in his third season with the team, sits on the practice squad and has never attempted a regular-season pass. Washington could elevate Hartman in coming weeks if Daniels' recovery drags on.

The timing adds pressure. Heavy reported that Washington hosts the Seattle Seahawks on September 27, exactly the rematch of the game where Daniels first dislocated this elbow. Seattle has its own quarterback uncertainty, with Sam Darnold sidelined by a glute injury and a possible return targeted for Week 3 or 4, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport as cited by Heavy. Whether Daniels is anywhere near ready for that game is now an open question that Monday's imaging should start to answer.

A repeat dislocation of the same joint, without a fracture, does not automatically mean season-ending surgery. Daniels avoided surgery last year and returned within weeks. But Dr. Chao's read that the ligament likely healed "looser," combined with the visible instability on tape, is why several outlets are framing this as a potential turning point rather than a short-term absence.

No team announcement has confirmed a timeline, injured reserve designation, or surgical decision as of Sunday night. The Commanders said additional imaging on Monday will determine, in Quinn's words relayed by USA Today and riggosrag, "the best path forward."