Jayden Daniels Avoids Significant Injury but May Not Play Week 8
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The good news for Jayden Daniels is that he avoided any major injury after pulling his hamstring in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Unfortunately, the bad news is that Daniels may not play this Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Daniels left the Dallas game after his leg was twisted while being sacked by Dallas linebacker Shemar James. The quarterback limped off the field, straight to the locker room, and did not play the rest of the game. Marcus Mariota came in and finished off the 44-22 defeat.
Fantasy Football Impact Of The Jayden Daniels Injury
The tangible impact was not seeing if Daniels could mount a comeback with Washington as he missed most of the second half. Year number two has not been as kind for fantasy football owners of Daniels. He had six rushing touchdowns last year but only has one in 2025. The completion rate is down to 61% from 69 a year ago. That is only the beginning.
However, it is still a drop compared to the prospect of Marcus Mariota starting again. Daniels is 2-3 this season and Mariota is 1-1. Mariota can be mobile but not like Daniels. Worse, the backup looked very ordinary in his 10 passes against Dallas. He even threw an interception and nearly a couple more. Dallas seemed to have him figured out.
All of this is troubling heading into a week where Washington is 3-4 and heading to face a red hot Kansas City Chiefs team that is 4-3 and playing its best football of the season.
.#ICYMI: Jayden Daniels’ injury is not significant but his status against the Chiefs is not yet known. @13NewsNow @Commanders 🏈🏈🏈https://t.co/v6EOO6xGQU pic.twitter.com/d3XH66OAPB
— Brian Smith 13News Now (@13BrianSmith) October 21, 2025
Washington probably is not looking at the playoff picture here but the bigger picture. Fortunately, the extra day helps Daniels heal. It will be telling what the plan is by hot much the quarterback practices during the week. How limited will he actually be?
The Extra Day For Jayden Daniels
Again, the extra day or so was a major reason why Emeka Egbuka played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. Many believe the injuries are similar to a point. Then again, there is a difference between a wide receiver and a quarterback. The quarterback takes far more punishment. Look at how many hard hits and sacks Daniels absorbed just in 2024 alone.
Daniels has already missed two games in 2025. Egbuka, by the way, was still limping noticeably in warmups but did catch four passes for 58 yards in the 24-9 defeat to Detroit. The problem was he had 12 targets. It did seem like he was a step slow. Look at Mike Evans, he had 0 yards on four targets and looked even worse for Tampa Bay.
Those are the worries for Daniels. He cannot afford to be a step slow or anything less than 100% against a Kansas City defense that defends the pass well (4th in yards allowed and 2nd in touchdowns). Also, the Chiefs have scored 28+ points in four straight contests. Washington needs Daniels to basically be the 2024 version of himself.
The NFL and fantasy football realities collide here. Daniels is ranked 17th at this stage of the year compared to being a Top 5 quarterback last season. Projections suggest he will play but then again, nothing is certain here.
Daniels has to carry more of the offense with Terry McLaurin still out, Jacory Croskey-Merritt struggling and an offensive line that is still allowing Daniels to be hit a bit too often. Not having three of your top receivers is less than ideal and that may continue. It is safe to say that Daniels and his fantasy football owners face another long week of ups and downs.
