Jayden Daniels is expected to keep playing through his elbow injury, even if the long-term plan still points toward surgery after the season.
That’s the latest wrinkle in a situation that looked much cleaner last Friday, when Commanders general manager Adam Peters said Daniels would not go on injured reserve after dislocating his left elbow again against the Dallas Cowboys and would not need surgery. Peters also said the quarterback should be back in about three weeks, or sooner.
But on “The Adam Schefter” podcast, ESPN’s Adam Schefter pushed back on the idea that Daniels had truly sidestepped surgery. Schefter said Daniels did not “avoid surgery.” Instead, the quarterback is expected to need a procedure after the season and is delaying it so he can return and try to help Washington’s push.
The injury itself isn’t new territory for Daniels. He first dislocated that left elbow in last year’s Week 9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Even with how ugly it looked, he only missed the next three games before coming back against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14. That return didn’t last long.
Daniels aggravated the elbow after taking a hit following an interception, left that game, and was later ruled out for the rest of the season.
Now he’s set to wear a brace on his non-throwing arm in an effort to avoid another setback. But that same approach didn’t prevent a repeat injury last year, which is why the decision has drawn plenty of second-guessing.
Washington has spent time gathering opinions, with Peters telling 106.7 The Fan that the organization has consulted doctors across the country in a thorough review of the best path forward. The Commanders are moving ahead with the plan to get Daniels back on the field sooner rather than later, even though not everyone around the league agrees with that call.
“If I'm the kid, I get the surgery,” one NFL team executive told The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones. “I get it might put the team in a weird spot. … I wouldn't pay him without the surgery.”
Another executive told Jones, “Him coming back early is the riskiest outcome for a team that's on the fringe of making the playoffs (even if he is) 100 percent.”
Washington does have a capable fallback in Marcus Mariota, who serves as team captain and has been one of the better backup options in the league. Mariota is 3-6 as Washington’s starter, and that includes Sunday’s 33-31 upset of the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, when he threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
So there is at least a case for sitting Daniels and leaning on Mariota. But the Commanders have chosen a different road.
Here’s Daniels’ injury log:
2025 Week 2 - Left knee sprain - 2 games missed
2025 Week 7 - Right hamstring strain - 1 game missed
2025 Week 9 - Dislocated left elbow - 3 games missed
2025 Week 15 - Aggravated left elbow injury - 4 games missed
2026 Week 2 - Dislocated left elbow - ?
The Commanders’ next test comes Sunday in London against the Indianapolis Colts.
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