JuJu Watkins Embrace with NFL Star Quarterback Reignites Dating Rumors
USC Trojans women's basketball superstar JuJu Watkins will be missing the entire 2025-26 NCAA season while she rehabs the torn ACL she suffered back in March. This is a crucial blow for the women's basketball community, given that Watkins is arguably the biggest college basketball star and is a joy to watch on the court.
The good news is that Watkins is clearly taking her time and emphasizing patience when it comes to this recovery, which should mean that she'll be back to her old self whenever she does return to the court.
In the meantime, Watkins has been out and about. An interaction she had with NFL superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels is catching a lot of attention.
After the Washington Redkins' October 5 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Redskins' social media team posted a video of 24-year-old starting quarterback, 2023 Heisman trophy winner, and 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Jayden Daniels, sharing a secret handshake embrace with Watkins.
Their post was captioned, "🫶🫶🫶".
🫶🫶🫶 pic.twitter.com/UrdxIfji8J
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 6, 2025
The post already has 1.4 million views on the platform, and several other angles of this handshake (which came after Daniels hugged his mother have surfaced.
Fans React to JuJu Watkins, Jayden Daniels Embrace
This is far from the first viral interaction between Watkins and Daniels. Earlier this year, they were seen speaking with each other at a basketball game. After a while, Daniels' mother came and sat between them, which social media found hilarious.
Funny interaction yesterday between Jayden Daniels & JuJu Watkins…and Jayden’s mom, Regina Jackson. 😂
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) March 23, 2025
(via:@bigphillva6) pic.twitter.com/OanB5fepLV
Perhaps Daniels' mom has warmed up to Watkins, as she seemingly didn't have any issue with their post-game handshake on Sunday. What's for sure is that this moment has reignited dating rumors between these two young sports icons.
"I see they are students of A'ja and Bam Academy," one fan went viral for commenting on another video of Watkins and Daniels, referencing the romantic relationship between A'ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo that had been a poorly-kept secret until they made it official.
I see they are students of A'ja and Bam Academy https://t.co/3yFu8CLDIg
— Christina (@ChrissyHussle) October 6, 2025
"Yeah the Commanders won the game but Jayden Daniels & JuJu Watkins handshake cute asf #RaiseHail," another fan added.
"oh they locked in locked in," another said.
Another fan wrote, "I don't think they're cousins 😏". It has been suggested that these two are cousins, but there's no evidence of this being true.
I don't think they're cousins 😏 pic.twitter.com/qPjLlDAW7u
— JD5MVPSZN🔥🔥🔥 (@Lennyfrigginleo) October 6, 2025
"that handshake and look told us everything. jayden and juju go together," wrote one fan.
"Bro hug your girl," added another.
Another said, "That hand clasp told me everything, yeah that’s bae".
"Juju and Jayden. Just make it official already," wrote another.
"Juju and Jayden need to go ahead and go public with it. Love this for 5," added yet another, which got a lot of attention.
Juju and Jayden need to go ahead and go public with it. Love this for 5. https://t.co/I6RIIYTfIa
— Emmanual Benton (@manny_benton) October 6, 2025
"imagine dating a baddie but telling people that’s your cousin," another added.
Perhaps the Daniels and Watkins hard launch will be coming soon.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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