Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels left Week 2 with injuries that could shape the next stretch for both the Bears and Commanders.
The two quarterbacks will always be linked as the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, and now they’re tied together by a far less welcome detail: both were hurt on Sunday. Williams came away with a hamstring injury on a non-contact play, while Daniels dislocated his left elbow after being stepped on by an offensive lineman and trying to brace his fall.
Williams’ injury is his first significant NFL setback. Since Chicago drafted him, he had started all 36 games, including playoffs. Daniels, meanwhile, has now dealt with four significant injuries since the start of last season, and this is his second left elbow dislocation in the last 11 months.
Further testing, beginning Monday, should clarify the outlook for both.
Williams was hurt on a rain-soaked field when he took a bootleg dropback, raced toward the edge and then pulled up with pain after trying to outrun Andrew Van Ginkel. He needed help to the sideline and was carted off.
“You could kind of see in real time," coach Ben Johnson said. "I'm actually happy it's nothing with the knee; that was my first inclination.
But yeah, the hamstring could be pretty damaging as well. So, we'll see how bad it is tomorrow and we'll go from there."
The non-contact nature of the play initially raised the biggest alarm, but the early sense is that Chicago may have avoided the worst-case outcome. Several reporters noted Williams walked through the locker room without crutches and with maybe only a slight limp, which is encouraging - though hamstrings can be deceptive.
On NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast, Mike Florio said, "It could be as slight as a grade 1 [hamstring strain]."
If that’s the case, Williams could be looking at a short absence, though even a Grade 1 strain can linger, especially for a quarterback whose game depends so much on movement. Johnson’s offense uses rollouts and a variety of dropbacks, and Williams was hurt on exactly the kind of play that asks a lot of a mobile passer. A Grade 1 strain typically means walking is fine, strength is mostly intact and sprinting or longer strides bring pain, with a normal return often in the 1-3 week range, sometimes longer for high-speed athletes.
A Grade 2 strain would obviously stretch the timeline further. The source material points to examples like A.J. Green in 2016 and Patrick Willis in 2011 to show how much recovery time can vary.
Daniels’ injury was more jarring. He dislocated his left elbow in a manner similar to the one he suffered last year, only this time the sequence started when left guard Chris Paul stepped on him. As Daniels tried to brace the fall, he put his left arm on the ground and stayed down for several minutes before being carted off with a towel over his head and face.
Coach Dan Quinn said X-rays showed no fracture and that Daniels would fly home with the team before more testing on Monday.
The Commanders quarterback missed three weeks last year after his first left elbow dislocation, but this situation comes with a few added complications. The same injury has now happened twice, which means the ligaments are looser. He also did not have surgery last time, and after returning with a brace, he later re-aggravated the elbow when he landed hard on it while chasing down Andrew Van Ginkel after an interception.
Daniels could again choose the brace route, and there’s a path where he returns sooner than expected if he avoids surgery again or delays it until the offseason. But that would likely mean wearing the brace for the rest of the season, and it still leaves open the possibility of more pain if he takes another hit on that arm.
The timing makes the injury sting even more. Daniels had 69 rushing yards in the first half alone before the play that knocked him out, another reminder that the very thing that makes him dangerous can also put him in harm’s way.
For now, both quarterbacks are waiting on Monday’s testing to tell the real story. Williams may have escaped the worst with his hamstring. Daniels faces not only a recovery timeline, but a bigger decision about how to handle the elbow long term.
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