Don’t expect the Washington Commanders coaches and players to confirm who will play quarterback in London on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. That decision hasn’t been made.
Starter Jayden Daniels returned to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday, armed with a chunky arm brace to protect the left elbow he dislocated during a Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He’s questionable to play Sunday, stating Thursday that he’ll “take it day-by-day.”
If it were up to him, Daniels would take every snap against the Colts.
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“I love football, I play football. I get paid to play football. So, I owe it to my teammates,” Daniels said Thursday. “So I just feel like it’s me just being a leader … to go out there and play and obviously protect myself and stuff like that, but I just love football, I have a passion for it.”
But does he have a shot to start?
“Yep,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday.
He did not elaborate on the odds of Daniels taking the field against Indianapolis. The third-year passer is slowly ramping back up to game speed.
Back-up Marcus Mariota is more than capable of operating Washington’s offense. The former first-round pick has thrown for 294 yards and four touchdowns in relief of Daniels, without an interception.
“I just want to be able to help these guys out and find ways to win. And if that means me playing well, great. If that means me managing the game and making sure that we’re eating up clock, I’m taking care of the football, like I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Mariota said Wednesday, noting that he has “nothing to prove.” “I’m at that point in my career where that really is all that matters.”
Both quarterbacks are preparing as though they’ll start on Sunday. That’s the nature of the NFL’s “next man up” mentality.
“It’s day-by-day, but for sure got to mentally prepare myself to play,” Daniels said.
Mariota led the Commanders to an unlikely upset of the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Washington’s coaches and players are confident he could repeat that performance against Indianapolis.
“His mental reps and his mind was certainly a weapon for us, whether it was getting us into a right play, breaking the huddle quickly,” offensive coordinator David Blough said. “He did an excellent job just managing the game and then going to make his plays when they were there.”
The offensive system doesn’t change for Daniels or Mariota. Though their exact tendencies differ, Blough noted that he trusts his second-string to throw downfield and run as a ball carrier.
“Luckily both of those guys are great passers and also great runners, so we’re very fortunate to have a backup who kind of mirrors the skill set of a starter,” he said. “And when you build it, you would love for it to be that way. So, I’ll just say, like, it’s fairly similar.”
The decision regarding who starts on Sunday will ultimately depend on Daniels’ health and comfort. He’s got a high pain tolerance, Quinn said, but that doesn’t mean the arm is ready to go. And the Commanders can’t risk their franchise quarterback for a lone, interconference matchup across the Atlantic Ocean.
“We’re going to make sure, man, that he’s right, he’s comfortable, and that our process is good as we take it up to game time, and then all the way into, you know, as we just get him back on the field, we want him to feel like him,” offensive coordinator David Blough said.
Daniels suffered an identical injury — a dislocation to his non-throwing elbow — last November. He was sidelined for four weeks initially. But, in his first game back, he reinjured the joint after throwing an interception.
Washington sidelined him for the remainder of the 2025 campaign, only for the injury to return six quarters into 2026. On both dislocations, Daniels suffered the injury while trying to cushion a fall near the goal line.
His new arm gear is designed to help prevent a third dislocation.
“That’s what the brace is for,” he said. “If I had that concern, I would have got surgery.”
The new brace is different from the one Daniels sported last December. It prevents him from fully extending his left arm, keeping the elbow protected. But it doesn’t change the way he throws the football, carries it or hands it off to running backs.
“It’s going to be an adjustment period, but it just feels good to go back out there and play football again,” Daniels said. “It’s just getting used to it. That’s pretty much it.”
Repeat dislocations often require surgical intervention to strengthen the ligaments surrounding a joint. After meeting with specialists last week, Daniels decided to skip surgery for now. He’ll reconsider the option after the season.
His exact return date — whether it arrives Sunday against the Colts or Oct. 11 at home against the New York Giants — remains uncertain.
“It is certainly fluid,” Blough said. “And we like Jayden’s progression.”
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