Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is dealing with a knee injury that is throwing his status for his team’s Week 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders into question.
Daniels underwent an MRI after the Commanders’ 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers on ‘Thursday Night Football’ that revealed a knee sprain, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That is leaving Daniels’ status for Week 3 ‘in doubt’ as he deals with the injury.
Here’s more to know about Daniels’ injury and how it will impact the Commanders moving forward.
Jayden Daniels injury update
Dan Quinn was asked about Daniels’ injury at a news conference Monday. The Commanders coach said his second-year quarterback would be ‘day to day’ and that the team would know more about his status Wednesday.
‘I know lots of the questions will be about our QB, but I can say – here’s what I know,’ Quinn said. ‘He did have an MRI and he’s already begun his return to play process with us. He is truly day to day. What does that mean for Sunday? I can’t tell you that now. I’ll have more to share on that when we get to Wednesday at practice and what that would look like.’
Quinn did not add any specifics about the nature of Daniels’ injury.
Neither did Rapoport, who did not disclose the type of severity of Daniels’ knee sprain in his initial report. Rapoport simply said the malady is ‘not a long-term injury.’
It isn’t wasn’t completely clear when Daniels may have suffered the injury. He came up limping after being tackled by Kingsley Enagbare with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Despite this, Daniels finished the game and did not miss a snap in Washington’s defeat.
Who is the Commanders backup QB?
If Daniels is unable to play in Week 3, the Commanders would turn to backup quarterback Marcus Mariota to lead the charge.
Mariota has a record of 34-40 in 74 career starts and played on occasion in relief of Daniels in 2024. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2015 NFL Draft completed 77.3% of his passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns in limited action.
Commanders QB depth chart
The Commanders currently have four quarterbacks in their organization. They are as follows:
- Jayden Daniels
- Marcus Mariota
- Josh Johnson
- Sam Hartman (practice squad)
(This story will be updated as more information becomes available.)