Commanders star Jayden Daniels re-injures elbow vs. Vikings

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is back on the sidelines with a re-aggravation of his elbow injury that held him out for the last few games.

Daniels took a shot on his elbow in the third quarter of the team's Week 14 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Andrew Van Ginkel bats it in the air and picks off Jayden Daniels!

WASvsMIN on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/1JUufVQtxW
— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025

Daniels hurts elbow again vs. Vikings

On 4th-and-3, Daniels threw a pass but it was batted in the air and intercepted by Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers came in to help Van Ginkel by blocking Daniels out of the play, pushing him onto the ground, where he landed on his ailing elbow.

It remains to be seen whether he will return to the game. Marcus Mariota is in at quarterback for the Commanders. On his first drive of the game, he threw an interception to Vikings defensive back Harrison Smith.

Officially, Jayden Daniels (elbow) is questionable to return. Unofficially, he's standing on the sideline, no helmet, no sleeve on his left elbow anymore, and not looking like a quarterback who has a shot at coming back in. May have seen the last of No. 5, and not just for today.
— David Harrison (@DHarrison82) December 7, 2025

With the Commanders likely to post their eighth consecutive loss to get to 3-10, it may be time to officially put an end to Daniels' season to allow him to fully recover and get back to 100 percent. Daniels has been injured on three different occasions this season and his body could use the recovery process.

“Yeah, I mean, he loves to play the game and so I think you start there with just his passion for it, the preparation, the process, all those things. So just continue to learn as a player, continue to grow as a player and hopefully, you know, have some of these weapons out there with him that we can build some more rapport with going into next year," Kingsbury said of Daniels earlier this week.

Losing Daniels would be unfortunate for the Commanders, but it's clear after this game it's time to focus on the future.

The Commanders trail 24-0 to the Vikings in the third quarter inside U.S. Bank Stadium.

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