When Jayden Daniels went down with a dislocated left elbow against the Dallas Cowboys, it immediately raised memories of last season, when the same injury cost him a month and then resurfaced to end his year early. This time again, the Washington Commanders QB suffered a similar complication. However, there is promising news regarding the injury that seemed horrific at first glance, according to NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Commanders QB Jayden Daniels will not be placed on IR, per me and @AdamSchefter. After imaging was evaluated and multiple specialists were consulted this week, the consensus is Daniels is week-to-week, and both WAS and Daniels are aiming for him to return as soon as possible,” Rapoport reported on Thursday.
The incident took place when the Commanders visited AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys on September 20. During the final play of the first half, after taking a snap from under center, left guard Chris Paul accidentally stepped on Jayden Daniels’ foot as the Commanders QB was pulling away from the line of scrimmage.
This caused Daniels to lose his footing and stumble backward awkwardly. As his body fell and twisted toward the turf, Daniels instinctively extended his left arm (his non-throwing arm) to brace his fall and try to keep the play alive. However, his hand could not take his weight, and his elbow joint visibly popped out of place before he hit the turf.
Unsurprisingly, the gruesome sight left everyone in attendance deeply worried. Initially, it looked like Daniels’ injury would require surgery, especially because this was a second dislocation on the same elbow. After the game, head coach Dan Quinn was visibly downcast.
“Man, are we bummed for him. I thought he was really playing his a– off. And we will rally so hard around Marcus [Mariota] until Jayden is back,” Quinn said.
However, the Commanders general manager Adam Peters also offered some positive news regarding Daniels’ status.
“As of right now, surgery is not on the table, and we haven’t discussed IR,” Peters said Friday on The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan radio. “So it’s just a matter of how we’re going to get him back on the field. That’s still to be determined.”
So, the team has opted not to place Jayden Daniels on IR, which means they confidently expect him to return to the field in fewer than four weeks (an IR designation forces a mandatory four-game absence).
In the next three weeks, the Commanders face the Seattle Seahawks on September 27, then the Indianapolis Colts on October 4, and the New York Giants on October 11.
For now, the Commanders will lean on Marcus Mariota under center while prioritizing Jayden Daniels’ full recovery, especially given the injury setbacks the young quarterback has faced early in his career.
Daniels entered the NFL in 2024 as the second overall pick. Coming off a breakout college season with LSU, where Daniels threw for 3,812 yards, the Commanders saw him as fit to lead their offense.
However, after the rookie season in which Daniels racked up 3,568 passing yards with a 12-5 record in the regular season, multiple injury complications have affected his consistency.
Last season, Daniels missed 10 games in total due to three separate injuries that completely derailed the Commanders’ campaign. In Week 2, when they came out to face the Green Bay Packers, Daniels suffered a grade 1 left knee strain. He missed two games due to this. Then, during the Week 7 clash against the Dallas Cowboys, the Commanders QB again suffered an injury. However, this time he pulled his right hamstring and missed only one game.
In less than 15 days, Jayden Daniels returned to the gridiron and faced the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 9 clash, where he suffered his first left elbow dislocation. This time, Daniels was out for four weeks and missed three games.
A month later, on December 7, 2025 (Week 14), Daniels returned wearing a protective brace against the Minnesota Vikings. However, during a play, he aggravated the exact same loose joint capsule. Due to this, the Commanders’ QB was shut down for the final 4 weeks of the regular season, ultimately closing out the season with a 5-12 record.