Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels exited Washington’s Week 14 game at the Minnesota Vikings after landing hard on his left elbow. It was Daniels’ first game back from dislocating that same left elbow in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. After throwing an interception to Minnesota edge defender Andrew Van Ginkel, Daniels was trying to chase down Van Ginkel when Isaiah Rodgers (legally) came in and shoved Daniels to the ground.
Daniels was in clear pain leaving the field, and Marcus Mariota came in on the ensuing drive; Mariota’s first drive also ended in an interception. Daniels entered the medical tent and emerged with a towel over his head and without the arm sleeve he had been wearing over his elbow. Washington ruled him questionable to return.
Daniels suffered a plethora of injuries this season. He sprained his knee in a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers and missed the next two games. He came back and helped lead the Commanders to a Week 5 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, but Washington lost in Week 6 to the Chicago Bears, and in Week 7, Daniels suffered a hamstring strain in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He missed one game before returning in Week 9, when he suffered the dislocated elbow.
Despite entering Week 14 with a 3-9 record, Washington wanted Daniels to return when medically cleared to help him gain reps and build toward next season. Daniels had nearly a week and a half of limited practices before being a full participant Thursday and Friday ahead of the Vikings game.
“I think it’s important as Jayden’s … learning to play this position at the highest level competitively, also doing it safely, and those are reps, you know, that you develop as well,” Quinn said on Nov. 24. “It’s a skill, just like throwing and processing. And so, all those things are important.”