Jayden Daniels Ruled Out Again, But Commanders Target Week 5 Return Against Giants

Since Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in the first half of Washington's Week 2 loss to the Cowboys, the Commanders have gone from a 0-2 team with a season-ending injury scare to a 1-2 squad cautiously optimistic their quarterback could be back within weeks, not months.

Head coach Dan Quinn ruled Daniels out Friday for Sunday's Week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts in London, according to the Commanders' own team report. But Quinn made clear this was progress, not a setback.

"He had a great week," Quinn said. "It was awesome to have him back on the field in a limited fashion. That's a huge positive step for us and for him."

Daniels was a limited participant in all three practices this week, his first on-field work since the injury. Quinn called it "a big deal" that Daniels was back on the field less than two weeks after a dislocation that initially had many assuming his season was over.

The injury is Daniels' second left elbow dislocation in as many years. He suffered the first in Week 9 of 2025 against Seattle, which cost him three games before a re-aggravation on his first play back knocked him out for four more. He finished last season having played in just seven games, completing four of them.

This time, Daniels got stepped on by his own left guard and bent his arm awkwardly bracing a fall, according to CBS Sports, which cited NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reporting Daniels was expected back within three weeks, if not sooner. After visiting multiple specialists and getting additional imaging, Daniels and the team decided against surgery, and Washington did not place him on injured reserve, a move that would have guaranteed a four-game absence.

The Ringer's Tom Pelissero reported the Commanders are hopeful Daniels can return for Week 5 against the Giants, provided he gets through a full week of practice without issue. He'll wear a larger brace on the elbow, which Quinn's team says does not affect his throwing motion but does prevent him from fully extending the arm.

Multiple outlets, including Pro Football Rumors and The Athletic's Jonathan Jones, report that while Daniels is avoiding surgery for now, a procedure after the season is a real possibility to tighten the elbow for good. Jones also flagged the bigger-picture stakes: Daniels is extension-eligible next offseason, and pre-draft durability concerns about the 2024 Heisman winner have now played out in back-to-back years. The Commanders may want certainty about his health before committing big money.

That creates an awkward incentive problem. If Washington's season slips away, the team and Daniels could mutually decide to shut him down, get the elbow surgically repaired sooner, and put him in a stronger negotiating position for next summer. Nothing in these reports suggests that's the plan right now, but decisions of this type tend to get made in November, not October.

In Daniels' absence, Marcus Mariota has been genuinely good. He threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions in a 33-31 upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 3, sealing it with a nine-yard scramble on third-and-7 in the fourth quarter. Over his two starts filling in, Mariota has thrown for 294 yards and four touchdowns without a turnover.

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury credited Mariota's experience for the Seahawks win, noting his mental reps and veteran mind were a weapon for the offense, whether it was getting the team into the right play or breaking the huddle quickly. Mariota gets his third straight start Sunday against the Colts in London before the Commanders turn back to Daniels, assuming the elbow holds.

Before the injury, Daniels had looked like himself: 260 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and 100 rushing yards through two games. Sports Illustrated noted his passing numbers hadn't popped in raw yardage, but his six rushes per game were fourth-most among all quarterbacks before he went down.

The concrete question now is simple: can Daniels string together one full, uninterrupted week of practice? He hasn't managed that yet this season. If he does, he plays the Giants on October 12 in Week 5. If the elbow flares up again during practice, as it did last year on his very first play back, Washington's calculus on a season-ending surgery gets a lot more urgent.