Jayden Daniels isn’t backing away from the elbow brace - he’s leaning into it.
After practice on Wednesday, the Commanders quarterback made it clear he knows the brace is part of the job for now. When asked how he plans to play with it, Daniels didn’t overcomplicate it.
“Reps,” Daniels said, via CommandersWire.com. “Reps with the brace, it’s a part of me for right now, so just gotta get used to it…Hell yeah, I wanna play football, so it’s a part of me, so gotta go out there and body and embrace it.”
That same day, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Lucas Patrick will take over as the starter at center going forward. (Keim)
In Dallas, Jerry Jones backed Brian Schottenheimer after the Cowboys’ rough loss to the Buccaneers, saying he sees enough discipline from his head coach to handle the mess.
“I’ll assure (he’s) active and addressing issues.” (Jon Machota)
Jones also said he still believes DaRon Bland can get back to elite form, while noting the cornerback has left plays on the field.
“He had a chance there to do a Bland, which is intercept a ball in a key time. He’s gotta continue to work to play at the level we expect him to.
He’s paid for how he has played in the past.” (Machota)
Schottenheimer, meanwhile, said he’s not ruling anything out when it comes to his staff after the loss.
“I’m going to look at everything. I’ll spend countless hours trying to figure it out and getting a chance to step back, look at these five games, and see what we need to improve.” (Machota)
He expanded on that plan later, saying the Cowboys are treating this weekend like a full evaluation.
“This weekend is going to be a process. We’re going to go through the process.
We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to watch the tape.
We’re going to look at the stats. We’re going to look at everything and we’re going to make some decisions that we believe will give us the best chance to pick back up and play well next week.
We’re five games in. Didn’t plan on being 2-3.
Disappointed by that for sure, but we’re just getting started. There’s a lot of football left and we got to play better.
We know that.”
In New York, Giants head coach John Harbaugh explained why Bryan Hudson got the start at center over John Michael Schmitz against the Cardinals.
Harbaugh said Schmitz had missed practice time and was dealing with a lack of rest after his wife gave birth, while Hudson had put in the work during the week.
“JMS had missed a couple days of practice, and Huddy had been doing so well,” Harbaugh told reporters. “We kind of felt like he’s got the reps.
He’s made the calls, and we were kind of thinking about starting to work him in a little bit here and there, even some extra line stuff, if possible. And it just made sense.”
“JMS, he’d been up; his wife had the baby. He didn’t have a lot of rest,” Harbaugh added.
“It just made sense, and I think it paid off. It’s not a long-term thing.
I mean, we just have two centers we really like.”
In Other News...
Commanders Still Have An Opening In A Division Nobody Controls
A rough start has left the Commanders with plenty of work to do, but the bigger picture around the NFC East still gives Washington a path forward. At 1-3 after a Week 4 loss, the margin for error is thin, and the questions around Dan Quinns future are starting to surface too. Even so, this is a division that has not offered anyone much room to separate, with the Cowboys and Eagles both dealing with their own problems and looking far less secure than expected.
That creates an opening the Commanders can still chase if they start stacking wins and the rest of the division keeps stumbling. Washington does not need the NFC East to look pretty, just competitive enough to stay in reach while the standings remain unsettled. The next stretch matters because a couple of good results could quickly change the tone around a season that already feels much more fragile than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Already Saw This Coming With Von Miller
Von Millers move across the division has not gone the way Dallas hoped, and it has only made Washington look more prescient about passing on a reunion. The veteran edge rusher has been quiet through five games with the Cowboys, and the issues have extended beyond the pass rush, with his run defense coming under scrutiny as well. Former Washington safety Donte Whitner even went so far as to question whether Miller is nearing the end of the line.
For the Commanders, the bigger point is that this was a decision they already made with an eye on the future. Washington chose not to bring Miller back and instead leaned into a younger approach, a path that has fit the defense better under its current coordinator. With the unit showing signs of improvement, the organizations choice to move on from an aging pass rusher looks a lot less cautious now and a lot more practical. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Season Turning Point Puts Brandon Coleman In A Brutal Spotlight
Sundays meeting with the Giants arrives at a tense point for Washington, with the NFC East still unsettled and the Commanders trying to steady themselves through a run of injuries. The encouraging part is that Jayden Daniels is expected back without limitations, which gives the offense a chance to look more like itself as the stakes rise in Week 5.
Brandon Coleman, though, is one of the players who will be watched closest. He has been asked to handle a major role up front at a time when the margin for error is shrinking, and this matchup is the kind that can expose every weak spot along the line. For Washington, it is less about style points than survival, and Colemans performance could end up shaping how secure the team feels heading into the rest of the division race. [Read more 🡒]