Commanders News: Jayden Daniels Nears Return While Washington’s Roster Keeps Changing

the burgundy roundup — Jayden Daniels nears a return to practice as the Commanders reshuffle their roster, monitor injured players, and prepare for the Giants. | HTTR4LIFE LLC

With the team back from London, the focus now turns towards another NFC East matchup with the New York Giants this weekend. Tuesday brought some roster movement, encouraging practice news, and clarity from Commanders head coach Dan Quinn on what needs fixing.

The team lost two players poached from the practice squad: the Seattle Seahawks signed running back Robert Henry Jr., and the Pittsburgh Steelers signed cornerback Terell Smith. Henry had a big preseason game against the Miami Dolphins before fading late in the preseason after a costly fumble hurt his roster chances. He was eventually cut and signed to the practice squad. Smith was more of a developmental cornerback depth piece for Washington. The team now has two practice squad spots to fill.

The Commanders worked out 3 DBs: CB Marcus Allen, CB Antonio Hamilton and S Jack Henderson.

Hamilton was with the team last season and through training camp.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 7, 2026

With attention now turning toward Wednesday's press conference with Quinn, Jayden Daniels, Sam Cosmi, Rachaad White, and Nick Cross are expected to work their way back toward practice this week, which is great news. Daniels is the obvious headline grabber, with Marcus Mariota currently without a timeline for his return after his second MCL sprain on the same knee in less than three months.

Quinn admitted the staff is still "tweaking it" to find the best offensive line combination. Getting Sam Cosmi back should go a long way with that. "We’re still tweaking it to find the right combination for sure," Quinn said.

Trey Amos, Deatrich Wise Jr., and Jeremy McNichols are eligible and could begin working their way back, but opening a player's practice window does not mean the player will be immediately activated. That is important for a team that currently has several players on injured reserve and has spent much of the first month dealing with injuries.

Commanders News From the Day

Austin Ekeler's First Game Back Reveals Surprising Truth About Commanders Backfield

Running back Austin Ekeler was set to join the Carolina Panthers' practice squad in Week 4 when the Washington Commanders called. What's wild is that after being signed back to the roster just a few days earlier, Ekeler not only made the trip across the pond; he played 17 offensive snaps (27%) against the Indianapolis Colts. That may not sound like much, but Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt led the backs with 29 snaps (45%), Ekeler was next with 17 (27%), and rookie Kaytron Allen played 12 (19%).

Dan Quinn sees ‘good fire’ in Commanders after 1-3 start

Pre-snap penalties are Quinn’s biggest self-inflicted concern

“Our performance follows our focus,” he said. And if there’s one place Quinn wants to get right more than anything else, it’s in the pre-snap penalty department.

“I am very intent on our self-inflicted fouls that happen pre-snap. I thought the week before we really showed excellent complementary football; the takeaways that turned into points, the field-position battle that we won, and so when we didn’t do that in the last game, you feel that,” he told Kramsky.

“And so that’s what I want to make sure in practice: we’re seeing all three phases connected. But let’s make sure, man, let’s go battle forward, but no fouls that are before the snap. After the snap, those ones, let’s handle business between the whistles.”

We have placed WR Jaylin Lane on the Reserve/Injured List pic.twitter.com/gB8tIGLKi8
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 6, 2026

Washington Finally Found the Takeaways. Now Comes the Harder Part — Commanders Daily

After Week 2, we emphasized that after an offseason spent focused on creating them, Washington was heading into the Seattle game with no takeaways. New defensive coordinator Daronte Jones made that a major priority of his offseason program. The unit broke through, getting three against the Seahawks and two in London against Indianapolis. With the takeaway faucet on, the conversation has shifted from whether they're getting them to whether they're turning those extra possessions into points.

Kaliakmanis' NFL debut contained plenty of lessons

Kaliakmanis was called into action and finished the afternoon as the starter when Mariota strained his MCL 12 snaps into the game. The result wasn't what he or the Commanders wanted, as they suffered a 30-13 loss, but he's grateful for the opportunity because of all the lessons he learned in one afternoon. He's already working on some of them so he can be more prepared for his next opportunity.

The coverage kings in Week 4 👑 pic.twitter.com/xcutlCJpxO
— PFF (@PFF) October 6, 2026

Commanders’ special teams failures against Colts expose deeper dysfunction

We know what's wrong with the Commanders' defense. A lack of top-tier talent in the secondary is undermining coordinator Daronte Jones' efforts to get more creatively aggressive up front.

Podcasts

More Injuries, another Loss | John Keim Report

John recaps the Commanders 30-13 loss to the Colts in London. He talks injuries, Athan Kaliakmanis making his NFL debut, Jayden Daniels eventual return, and more!

Cooley Part 2 + Penalty Problems - Kevin Sheenan Show

Kevin opened with Bijan Robinson's performance last night for the Falcons before responding to an email about former Washington players contributing around the league. Warren Sharp/Sharp Football Analysis joined Kevin to describe the major increase in NFL penalties through the first four weeks of the season. Chris Cooley/part 2 followed. Cooley talked about the NFL job he'd love to have and weighed in on Austin Ekeler, Terry McLaurin, and Antonio Williams, among others.

Episode 1,425 - Dan Quinn says plan is for Jayden Daniels & Sam Cosmi to practice this week & start vs. Giants. Rachaad White & Nick Cross may be back too.

The absurd Sam Hartman situation

Why such little production from TEs?

Encouraged by D vs. Colts?https://t.co/fmEXGBVFYS
— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) October 6, 2026

Interviews

Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn told me plan is for Jayden Daniels to start on Sunday against the Giants. DQ also shared Jayden wanted to play in London. pic.twitter.com/iH6wax59QV
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) October 6, 2026

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