Tag: Marcus Mariota

Commanders coach Dan Quinn on Jayden Daniels so far: ‘He’s been outstanding’

Quinn praises Jayden Daniels, but says the team isn’t changing their plans for the young QB.

It’s been a good week for Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Through three training camp practices, Daniels has looked the part of the No. 2 overall pick, showing off his accuracy, arm strength and mastery of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.

Daniels and Marcus Mariota have split first-team reps, but Daniels is the one who looked like the seasoned veteran.

On Friday, head coach Dan Quinn gave an update on Daniels’ progress.

“Outstanding,” Quinn answered.

Daniels also met with the media Friday and was asked if he was frustrated that the Commanders haven’t named him the starting cornerback yet. He was unfazed.

“No, I like competing; I’m a competitor,” Daniels answered. “So, regardless of if I was announced the starter or not, you still got to compete. You still can’t be content with your job, comfortable, think it’s just your job, and seal the deal. You got to go out there and compete.”

While Daniels is on track to be the team’s starter, Quinn is not changing the franchise’s timeline in his development.

“I think, one, we have an effective plan for him, and Jayden’s the type of guy that wants to go nail it, in terms of each day each marker to go,” Quinn said. “But we’re really going to stay true to this. We have a really good plan, and what’s fun about it is he’s the type of person that wants to nail this part.”

Washington has a plan? This really is a new organization. Every time the franchise drafted a young quarterback in the past, they ruined him with entitlement before he ever took a snap. That’s not going to happen with Daniels. And Daniels is the type of person and player who wants to earn it. That’s a rare trait.

Dainels’ first NFL training camp could not have gotten off to a better start.

WATCH: Commanders QB Jayden Daniels drops dime to Brian Robinson Jr.

Daniels with a perfect throw to Robinson.

The Washington Commanders kicked off training camp on Wednesday with some red-zone drills. That meant we’d see plenty of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels in his first training camp practice.

Daniels didn’t disappoint, firing accurate passes throughout practice; Veteran Marcus Mariota split reps with Daniels on the first day, as was expected.

However, it was Daniels who had the pass of the day.

In 7-on-7 team drills, Daniels found running back Brian Robinson Jr. in the corner of the end zone for a would-be touchdown. It was an accurate throw from Daniels that only Robinson could catch.

Check it out here:

Head coach Dan Quinn told the media on Tuesday he wasn’t yet ready to name Daniels the starting quarterback.

“It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process,” began Quinn. “So, as we are going, when he is ready, we’ll know. When he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

Daniels has looked ready since the spring. There will be bumps in the road for every rookie quarterback, but barring something like an injury, he’ll be under center for the Commanders in Week 1.

LOOK: Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota and others gather for offseason workouts

Daniels was also impressed with how Oregon honored Mariota’s Heisman win.

New Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota said that he would likely coordinate an offseason workout with his teammates this offseason. The veteran quarterback is entering his 10th NFL season and first in Washington.

While Mariota is the veteran in Washington’s quarterback room, he’s not the expected starter. That would be rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick.

Daniels has impressed all his teammates and coaches with his work ethic during his short time in the NFL. But, with respect to his veteran mentor, Daniels allowed Mariota to schedule offseason workouts for several of their teammates.

Mariota held some offseason workouts this week in Oregon, and several Commanders, including Daniels, were present.

Some of the teammates in the above picture represent each offensive skill position: Running backs Austin Ekeler and Brian Robinson Jr., wide receivers Jahan Dotson, Dyami Brown, and Olamede Zaccheaus, and tight ends Cole Turner, John Bates, and Armani Rogers.

You may notice who is not present: Star wideout Terry McLaurin and rookie Luke McCaffrey. McLaurin never misses these types of events but is in the middle of planning for his wedding, while McCaffrey’s brother, Christian, got married over the weekend.

Washington’s players had the opportunity to tour the University of Oregon’s campus, and Daniels was impressed with how the school honored Mariota and his Heisman Trophy. Mariota won the Heisman in 2014, while Daniels won it in 2023.

Washington rookies are scheduled to report to training camp in just over two weeks, with the veterans coming a few days later.

 

Former NFL GM not high on Commanders’ quarterback

The former GM said the Commanders are doing everything possible to make sure Jayden Daniels starts Week 1.

“They signed Marcus Mariota as a backup quarterback. And we all know what he is; he’s a backup at best.”

That was what former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said when asked about the Commanders’ quarterback situation for this 2024 season.

Spielman, a guest of Ryan Wilson on the CBS Sports Network, was asked about each of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round of April 2024’s NFL draft.

He continued, “He’s struggled every time he has had to start. New regime coming in, new GM, new head coach, new offensive coordinator. They will do everything they can to get him (Jayden Daniels) prepared to start Week 1.”

Wilson then responded, “Here’s something Dan (Quinn) said recently talking about Jayden, ‘He’s further along than he probably should be.’

Wilson interjected, “That’s high praise for this time of year, even though you haven’t seen him take a hit. Because you can tell whether he knows the playbook or not.”

Back to Quinn’s evaluation of Daniels: “There’s no doubt that Jayden’s making unbelievable progress. It was really clear that he has put the work in.”

Kliff Kingsbury (offensive coordinator) added, “He has a really high football IQ. He understands protections. I’ve been really impressed by that. A lot of guys come into the league, and that’s not an area they major in in college.”

Spielman added he was impressed with Daniels coming in at 5:45 in the mornings to get in more mental reps in the new offense he is learning. Wilson then added that tackle Andrew Wylie and receiver Terry McLaurin have both been pleased with Daniels’ work ethic and leadership.

The experienced Spielman then warned their viewers that it is yet to be determined how good Daniels will be on the football field. “I mean, is anyone saying, ‘You know, we have a horse crap football team coming out to OTA’s and minicamps. We are packing it in’.”

For their complete dialog regarding this discussion of other first-round quarterback selections, you can watch here.

 

Commanders QB Sam Hartman finds a Jayden Daniels jersey while shopping

Sam Hartman poses for picture with Jayden Daniels’ jersey.

Washington Commanders rookie quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Sam Hartman have quickly developed a friendship since the end of the 2024 NFL draft.

Daniels was the No. 2 overall pick in April’s draft, while Hartman signed a priority free-agent deal with the Commanders. After signing Hartman, Washington waived quarterback Jake Fromm.

With veteran Marcus Mariota signed to only a one-year contract, it’s possible Washington general manager Adam Peters views the former Wake Forest and Notre Dame quarterback as the perfect long-term backup to Daniels.

Hartman and Daniels are always together during Washington’s practice, often with one making a joke at the expense of the other. They were among the team’s rookies who recently attended a Washington Nationals game where Daniels threw out the first pitch. When that first pitch didn’t necessarily land in the strike zone, Daniels playfully blamed Hartman.

The team is on vacation until training camp, so players will be back at their respective homes for the next month. But Hartman took to Instagram to show he hadn’t forgotten about Daniels.

Here is Hartman with a Daniels jersey he found in the store:

We aren’t sure if Hartman bought one, but you can bet Daniels’s jersey will eventually be on the NFL’s best-seller list.

 

Older photo shows Commanders QB Jayden Daniels wearing a Marcus Mariota jersey

Jayden Daniels once owned a Marcus Mariota jersey.

You can make plenty of comparisons between Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and veteran Marcus Mariota. In 2014, Mariota won the Heisman Trophy as a record-breaking dual-threat quarterback at Oregon.

Mariota would go No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL draft to the Tennessee Titans.

In 2023, Daniels won the Heisman Trophy by passing for nearly 4,000 yards, rushing for over 1,000, and accounting for 50 touchdowns. He went No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.

In April, they became teammates when Washington drafted Daniels — one month after the Commanders signed Mariota to a one-year deal in free agency. While they are officially competing to start at quarterback in 2024, the job belongs to Daniels, with Mariota serving as his backup and mentor.

If Daniels becomes the starting quarterback as expected this season, he will look to Mariota as a sounding board. While they haven’t been teammates long, Daniels has spoken highly of Mariota.

As it turns out, Daniels has been a fan of Mariota for a while. A photo recently surfaced showing Daniels and his mother, with the Washington quarterback wearing a Mariota No. 8 Tennessee Titans jersey. Mariota spent the first five seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee.

While Mariota’s career hasn’t gone as he planned, he is about to begin his 10th NFL season in 2024, with no signs of his career coming to a close at 30 years old. If anyone can offer advice to Daniels as he navigates NFL life, Mariota is the guy.

What is Jayden Daniels doing to prepare for training camp?

Jayden Daniels discusses his summer plans before training camp: It’s all work.

Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels finished minicamp on Thursday and now has six weeks off before reporting to training camp next month.

While players have six weeks off from official work, Daniels will be preparing for his rookie season.

After Washington’s practice this week, Daniels met with the media and discussed his plan for the next several weeks.

“I’ve been in football mode, man,” Daniels said. “Minicamp, OTAs, rookie minicamp, now mandatory minicamp. All I know is I’m going to go back to Southern California, go train with my quarterback coach down in Huntington Beach and get ready for the season. Get ready for training camp and put myself in the best position out there to come out here and just compete with the guys and have fun.”

Daniels’ personal quarterback coach is John Beck. Beck played six NFL seasons, including a stint in Washington. Beck explained ahead of the draft the work Daniels has done to become a top draft pick.

You often see the quarterback get together with the receivers, tight ends, and running backs for a few days in the offseason to have a passing camp. While the work is good, it’s also a bit of a team-bonding experience.

Will Daniels bring the Commanders together?

“I know we talked about it,” he said. “Marcus (Mariota) talked about it a lot, so we’ll figure something out. There’s no fine print, no details on that, but we’ll figure something out.”

It does sound like some players will be together at some point over the summer. Daniels, being a humble rookie, may choose to let the veteran Mariota take the lead.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn not yet ready to name a starting quarterback

Quinn wasn’t ready to name a starting quarterback — yet.

The Washington Commanders completed their three-day minicamp on Thursday and are off for six weeks until training camp begins.

Head coach Dan Quinn met with the media before Thursday’s practice to discuss the end of the offseason. To say Quinn is pleased with his team and happy to be a head coach again would be an understatement.

The assumption is that when Washington used the No. 2 overall pick on quarterback Jayden Daniels in the 2024 NFL draft, he’d be the immediate starter. While that’s still the probable outcome, Quinn wasn’t quite yet ready to name a starter.

“Well, in true competition, that’s why we set it up as we did to have (QB) Marcus (Mariota) have some and Jayden to have some,” Quinn said in response to being asked about Daniels receiving first-team reps in the offseason.

“So, no great declarations other than like being true to who we are as competitors. There’s no doubt that Jayden’s making unbelievable progress here, and we’ll have a really fun camp, but he’s earned that opportunity to go compete. We wouldn’t have given him those spaces and those times and those reps if he hadn’t.”

What do we make of what Quinn said? Nothing. This has been the theme of the offseason: Competition. What would Quinn gain by saying Daniels is the starter now? Everyone knows Daniels will be under center for the Commanders this season, and likely in Week 1.

Eagles have 7th most amount of dead money salary cap hits in NFL for 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles $50 million in dead salary cap is the 7th most in the NFL

The Eagles have $27,451,062 in available cap space right now but could have a ton more if not for a $50 million dead salary cap hit that places Philadelphia among the top seven in the NFL, per Over The Cap.

The Eagles traded Haason Reddick this offseason and released Avonte Maddox before re-signing him at a lower salary. Other former Eagles included in the dead money are Marcus Mariota ($3,068,000), Kevin Byard ($1,386,000), Derek Barnett ($4,004,766), and Kyron Johnson ($104,964).

Additional money and salary cap space have been taken away after the retirements of Jason Kelce ($8,678,000) and Fletcher Cox ($4,200,000).

Pac-12 Heisman QB comparison — Matt Leinart vs Marcus Mariota

Would you rather have Leinart’s 2004 season or Mariota’s 2014 campaign?

The Pac-12 football era has, in a meaningful sense, come to an end. We can say that Washington State and Oregon State are technically carrying the banner for the conference, but two teams is not a conference in anything but a legal sense. The Pac-12 is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Maybe we can say that the league is frozen in a cryogenic chamber and could be brought back to life in 10 years. Maybe the league is in a deep coma. At any rate, it is no longer functional to any significant degree. As we look back on the story of Pac-12 football, comparing Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in the conference is an interesting exercise. Consider 2004 Matt Leinart of USC versus 2014 Marcus Mariota of Oregon.

Leinart was awesome in 2004 for the Trojans under Pete Carroll, completing nearly two-thirds of his passes for 33 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. That’s magnificent, God-tier performance as the leader of a dynamic offense which had Reggie Bush in the backfield. Everything came together for that 2004 USC offense.

Marcus Mariota was extraordinary in 2014 for Oregon. He threw for over 4,400 yards with 42 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. A quarterback can’t play much better than Mariota did for the Ducks.

Statistically, Mariota’s season was better. However, as USC fans will very quickly remind Oregon fans, the Trojans play for national championships. Leinart won it all in 2004. Mariota did not.

We all know which season we would prefer here at USC.

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