Commanders reveal 'driving factor' behind Jayden Daniels decision

ASHBURN, Va. – Coming into Week 14, we were firmly in the group of people who felt Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels should play again before the end of 2025.

After all, not only was Daniels going to be healthy before stepping foot on the field, but the Commanders were also getting receivers Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, and Noah Brown back on the field for the first time together since Week 2. The potential to build good habits for the future was clear and evident, and there was no reason not to try to take advantage of it.

A Question of 'Healthy Enough'

Then, 31-0 happened, and Daniels re-aggravated his elbow. To be clear, healthy always meant just that, not ‘healthy enough.’ However, many question if Daniels was actually healthy or just good enough to go out and play without a serious risk of reinjury. To us, you can’t aggravate a non-injury, so if it can be aggravated, it’s still an injury, and there’s no reason to have him out there in that condition, especially after watching the ineffective game plan and play-calling approach demonstrated against the Minnesota Vikings.

Dec 7, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) drops back to pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Health as the Driving Factor

That makes the fact that Daniels will miss this weekend’s battle against the New York Giants good news, though not for the same reasons.

“When you're a young quarterback and young player, the growth is important, but we'll definitely let his health be the driving factor in that,” head coach Dan Quinn said when discussing the decision to sit the young quarterback in Week 15. “Obviously, for him, until things are fully able to be himself, no restrictions, that would be the driving factor.”

As much as we’d like to see every decision go perfectly, there has to be at least a little grace given for the fact that the first real adversity being experienced in Daniels’ career is also the first time his coaches are helping him navigate it. That doesn’t excuse blatant coaching missteps, but we don’t believe those were taken either, though the results clearly didn’t meet expectations.

Getting another chance to meet the moment, the expectations now would be that Daniels wouldn’t step foot on the field while re-aggravation is still in the cards, though he is practicing in limited fashion with the door open that he’ll return again in 2025.

“It was good to have him for practice for sure,” Quinn said. “And so, it wasn't cleared for the contact portion, but he was able to get some reps and going through some things so as we get through in the next week, I'll have a better sense.”

The Eagles Await?

Could Daniels play in Week 16 against the Philadelphia Eagles? You better believe it, like it or not.

Even if Daniels doesn’t play next week or any other week the rest of the way, Quinn also commented on the importance of his quarterback getting as many preparation reps as possible, and getting back into and staying in the mode of getting ready for battle week-in and week-out.

“I like the work, continue to get the development obviously with up and down from practice times and when you can to get three days in a row of practice work, that's important.”

For now, those on the team ‘sit Jayden’ for the rest of 2025 got their way. Next week? Well, as Quinn put it, “...so as we get through in the next week, I'll have a better sense.”

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