Washington Commanders fans were nervous early in Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. After a 46-yard run on Washington’s first drive, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels appeared to be in pain.
Daniels would finish the drive but then went to the locker room for what the team called a rib injury. Washington said he was questionable to return. The Commanders held a 10-0 lead when Daniels departed the game.
Marcus Mariota relieved Daniels, and while struggling on his first drive, he quickly got hot and led Washington on multiple scoring drives, including a touchdown before halftime to make it 27-0. Once the third quarter began, the Commanders ruled Daniels out.
Daniels came back onto the field during the third quarter as fans cheered. A positive sign, right? He also appeared in good spirits for the remainder of the game. After Washington defeated Carolina 40-7, Quinn offered the following update on Daniels:
“I cannot give you an update on Jayden, but I will just as soon as we find out,” Quinn said. “We’ll do some further tests tomorrow and then when we get together in the afternoon, we’ll give you an update. But I don’t have anything for everybody else asking the same thing; same answer. So, just wanted to make sure I was super clear on that.”
Quinn will speak to the media on Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.
However, Daniels’ mother tweeted during Sunday’s game that her son was “fine.”
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler offered another positive update on Washington’s star rookie.
Source when asked about Jayden Daniels’ rib X-ray: “He’s good.”
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 20, 2024
The Commanders will play it extra safe with Daniels. It will be difficult to keep him out of next week’s game against the Bears, but if he’s not 100%, Washington will go with Mariota. Quinn understands that there’s nothing more important to the franchise than Daniels’ short and long-term health.