Jayden Daniels wanted the LSU situation to stay in the past. On Saturday, the Washington Commanders QB was asked about the fallout surrounding his former school and the No. 5 jersey. Daniels did not reopen the dispute or offer another explanation. He pointed back to the statement he had already released.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Man, we posted that statement out,” Daniels said in his August 22 presser about the whole jersey controversy with LSU. “But for me now I was really just focused on Commanders football. I said everything I had to say within the statement, and now it’s really just getting ready.”
Daniels’ representatives sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter after the Tigers gave his former No. 5 jersey to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett. The letter told LSU to stop using Daniels’ name, image and likeness. He had worn No. 5 throughout his two seasons in Baton Rouge, including the 2023 season when he won the Heisman Trophy.
Daniels later spoke about the dispute on Instagram. He said he was grateful for his time at LSU and wanted to settle the matter privately rather than let it play out publicly. He also said his main focus was training camp with the Commanders. That was supposed to draw a line under the matter. Instead, the questions followed him into Washington.
“Yeah man, this is disappointing as hell. He had a chance to clear the air, and he didn’t,” SI’s Grant Chachere wrote on X, reacting to Daniels’ statement. Whereas another fan pointed to Daniels’ reluctance to put the matter to bed. “One of the dumbest moves I’ve seen from one of the brightest kids out there,” wrote the user.
The original controversy had a fairly straightforward explanation from Daniels’ side. His camp believed LSU had treated his legacy differently than expected. Daniels had won the Heisman just like Joe Burrow did in 2019. Yet, Burrow’s jersey hasn’t been worn till now, unlike Daniels’. The problem was that LSU never officially retired No. 5. And nothing stops the school from using it if it wants to.
“People need to stop with this annoying LSU nothingburger s–t,” a user wrote on X. A Commanders fan, though, came down heavily on Daniels for stirring up the LSU controversy instead of focusing on his NFL prep. “Focus on the NFL; we don’t care about LSU,” wrote the user.
Daniels is no longer an LSU quarterback. He is entering his third NFL season with the Commanders, and Washington’s season is approaching quickly. The team selected him No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft after his extraordinary final season at LSU. That gives the criticism a different edge. There is also an important distinction getting lost in the noise.
“If he was focused on the team and the season, this would never came out,” another X user wrote. “He is a diva.”
Daniels’ camp has argued that LSU’s NIL rights had expired 180 days after his final college game under his agreement with the school. The jersey was the event that brought the dispute into the open. It’s about time now that both camps should move on from the controversy.