The Washington Commanders are heading into 2026 with plenty to fix after a 2025 season that ended without a playoff berth. Jayden Daniels, who missed significant time last year because of a variety of injuries, is trying to reestablish himself as one of the league’s top young quarterbacks.
When asked about his goal for the new season, Daniels didn’t dress it up.
“I felt like this last year. I wasn't hurt around this time last year, but it's year in, year out.
It's a new year. I don't want to compare to what I did my first two years.
Now I'm in a new season and new year, so I'm just trying to be the best version of myself,” he said, per Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports on X, formerly Twitter.
That mindset comes after a 2024 rookie campaign that was about as loud as they come. Daniels helped Washington pull off a stunning run to two road playoff wins before the Commanders’ season ended in the NFC Championship Game.
The follow-up was far less forgiving. In 2025, injuries hit Washington hard, Daniels among them, and the team also struggled in the tight games that had gone its way the year before.
The offseason brought change, too. The Commanders moved on from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who had been central to Daniels’ early success in 2024, as they try to find a way back into a crowded NFC race.
Washington opens the new season on September 13 with a road trip to face the divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles.
In Other News...
Commanders May Have Found A Surprise Answer To Their Pass Rush
Washington has spent the offseason trying to add more life to its pass rush, bringing in edge help with Odafe Oweh and KLavon Chaisson while also using the draft to strengthen the second level with Sonny Styles. Even with those moves, training camp has a way of revealing unexpected contributors, and that has been the case as the Commanders work through the early stages of building a more disruptive defense under Daronte Jones.
Joshua Josephs, a fifth-round pick, has started to draw attention while he learns the playbook and settles into the speed of the pro game. The rookie has shown enough during camp to suggest he could become part of the answer up front, giving Washington another young option to chase quarterbacks and deepen the groups rotation as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Add A Familiar D.C. Name To Their Linebacker Room
The Commanders kept busy with another round of roster shuffling, bringing linebacker Curtis Jacobs onto the team while making room by moving on from guard Sala Aumavae-Laulu and safety Rob McDaniel. Jacobs gives Washington a familiar D.C. connection, since he spent time with the DC Defenders before trying to stick in the NFL after going undrafted out of Penn State.
For Jacobs, this is another chance to carve out a role after bouncing through practice-squad stops with multiple teams, including Kansas City last year. Washingtons linebacker room has room for players who can make quick impressions in camp and on special teams, and Jacobs now gets an opportunity to do that in the same market where he once played in the spring league. [Read more 🡒]
Colson Yankoff Is Making A Real Push For The Commanders Roster
Colson Yankoff has turned training camp into a real opportunity, and the undrafted tight end has made the most of it so far for Washington. His involvement has ticked up in camp, and the things that tend to matter most for a player in his position have started to show up more clearly: reliable hands, work on special teams and progress as a blocker. With tight end-heavy systems often creating room for role players to carve out a niche, Yankoff has given the staff a reason to keep watching.
The opening could widen even more in the preseason, especially with injuries thinning parts of the roster and the offensive coordinator leaning into the position. For a player trying to stick, that combination can be priceless, because every snap becomes a chance to prove the camp buzz is real. Yankoff still has more to show before anything is decided, but he has moved from an afterthought to someone very much in the mix. [Read more 🡒]