ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will not suit up Sunday against the New York Giants, head coach Dan Quinn announced Wednesday.
Daniels exited last week’s 31–0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings after falling on his previously dislocated left elbow — an injury originally suffered in Week 9. Quinn said Daniels could have returned, but with the team trailing 17–0 late in the third quarter, he opted to put in backup Marcus Mariota instead.
According to Quinn, Daniels did aggravate the elbow, but medical evaluations on Monday showed no new damage. The team is hopeful he could be back the following week for the matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Daniels took part in individual drills during the media-open portion of Wednesday’s practice, and Quinn emphasized the team has not discussed shutting him down for the season.
“We haven’t gone down that road,” Quinn said. “He’s working really hard to get back out there with the guys.”
Sunday’s game will be the seventh Daniels has missed due to injury this year. He has been knocked out of his last three starts: he missed time with a sprained left knee, a hamstring issue, and then three games because of the initial elbow dislocation. Last week was the first time since Week 2 that Daniels and his top three receivers were all available.
Daniels appeared frustrated after being blocked to the turf while pursuing linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel following a third-quarter interception. He briefly stayed down before jogging to the sideline.
Quinn stressed that the decision to keep Daniels out in Minnesota was based solely on the game situation — not past regret from the Week 9 loss to Seattle, where Daniels was injured late in a blowout.
“It didn’t weigh on me,” Quinn said. “The game wasn’t going our way, and I thought it was the right call. I’ll always make the best decision for him and for the team. He wasn’t happy about it, but it’s the correct decision right now.”
