Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been blunt about how he views the rest of this season: if he is healthy, he wants to play. On a 3-8 team with nothing real left to chase in the standings, the former Rookie of the Year told reporters his mindset has not changed. In his eyes, being cleared medically means getting back on the field, not sitting out to preserve 2026.
According to ESPN, the Commanders currently list Daniels as week-to-week after dislocating his non-throwing (left) elbow and are operating as if he will miss Monday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.
Week 14, however, is described as a realistic return window, with the December 7 home matchup against the Minnesota Vikings firmly in play if doctors sign off. Internally, Washington has already had “big-picture” conversations with Daniels about whether it makes sense for him to play again in a lost season, including the possibility of turning a three-week injury into a five- or six-week layoff out of extreme caution. For now, though, shutting him down is not the plan.
The logic is simple: Daniels is a young quarterback who still needs live reps, and the injury, by design, should not affect his long-term outlook once healed. Because the elbow is on his non-throwing arm, the expectation is that, if he is cleared, he can get back to running the full offense without altering his mechanics.
There is also some help waiting whenever he returns. Wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown are expected to practice this week, giving Washington a stronger supporting cast than the patchwork group that has stumbled through much of the fall.
Not everyone agrees with rolling Daniels back out there, though. He is slated to return to practice in Week 13, but it remains a long shot he will be ready for Denver, and former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III has publicly argued the team should shut him down to protect its franchise passer and, if the losses continue, improve draft position.
That leaves the Commanders walking a thin line: honoring a young star’s desire to compete while proving they have finally learned how to manage a quarterback’s health in a season already gone off the rails.
