Jayden Daniels is playing Sunday. Offensive coordinator David Blough told reporters Thursday that his quarterback is “full go” for Washington’s home game against the Giants, two games after Daniels dislocated his left elbow in Dallas.
Daniels was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, his first since the September 20 injury. Head coach Dan Quinn said Monday that he expected Daniels to start. There is no hedging left in the language, which is rare for this situation and this franchise.
The Elbow Is Managed, Not Fixed
This is the same left elbow Daniels dislocated in Week 9 of the 2025 season, and it has been causing recurring problems since. General manager Adam Peters said the team never seriously weighed surgery or an injured reserve stint after the latest injury. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Daniels will probably need an operation in the offseason and is deferring it to stay available now.
So he plays in a brace that will not let him fully extend the arm. Daniels has made his peace with that: “I’m gonna embrace it. I’m gonna embrace the brace, not really worry too much about it.” He also called the brace “kind of a part of me now.”
That is the right attitude, and a non-throwing elbow in a brace is a workable problem for a right-handed quarterback. The part Washington should sit with is the pattern: the same joint, twice in 11 months, with surgery postponed rather than cancelled.
Washington Needs Him Badly
The Commanders are 1-3 after a 30-13 loss to the Colts in London. Marcus Mariota started that game and left after the second drive with a knee injury, which handed the offense to seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis. He finished 15-of-33 for 186 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The ground game has not covered for anybody. Washington has not cracked 100 rushing yards since Week 2, and the team waived rookie back Kaytron Allen on Wednesday to clear a roster spot. Daniels’ legs are a genuine part of the fix, which is the whole tension in this return: the offense works best when he runs, and he is the one player they most need to keep upright.
The protection in front of him is patched together, too. Right guard Sam Cosmi is working back from a concussion, and Quinn said he was hopeful about getting him available. Cosmi and Nick Allegretti were both limited in Wednesday’s practice.
The Giants Are a Real Test
New York arrives at 3-1 for an NFC East game at Northwest Stadium, and Washington is favored by 3.5. That number looks like the market pricing in Daniels’ presence rather than anything the Commanders have shown on the field in a month.
Play him anyway. A 1-3 team that sits a cleared franchise quarterback to protect an elbow headed for offseason surgery anyway has conceded the season in October. Daniels says he feels fine, his coordinator says he is full go, and his head coach has had him penciled in since Monday. The open question is whether the rest of this roster can keep up with him.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.