Washington is going to London without its quarterback.
The Commanders ruled Jayden Daniels out for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff. Marcus Mariota starts for the second straight week.
The Elbow Keeps Winning
Daniels dislocated his left elbow, the non-throwing arm, in the Sept. 20 game against Dallas. The mechanism was pure bad luck: his left guard stepped on his foot, Daniels stumbled, and the arm bent the wrong way as he went down.
Imaging found no fracture and no major ligament damage, and surgery was not immediately required. General manager Adam Peters has said a procedure after the season remains possible. Daniels returned to limited practice on Wednesday in London wearing a hinged brace that runs from his biceps to his forearm.
He also made it clear he is not interested in being managed. “If I was scared to get hit, I would have got the surgery,” Daniels said.
That is the right attitude for a franchise quarterback and the wrong one for a team that needs him in January. This is the same elbow he dislocated last season, which cost him time then too. A joint that pops out this easily does not get sturdier by being asked to hold up for three more months.
Dan Quinn Took His Time
Head coach Dan Quinn kept the door open most of the week, saying before the ruling that “by Friday, we’ll have a definite determination.” He got one. Daniels is out, and nobody involved sounds like they are planning on a long absence.
Mariota Has Already Proven He Can Do This
Here is the part Washington should feel decent about. Mariota did not just hold the fort last week, he won the game. He threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns in the Commanders’ win over Seattle, the first victory of their season.
Three touchdowns on 183 yards is an efficient, low-volume performance, and that is exactly the profile Washington wants from a backup. Mariota does not need to invent offense. He needs to protect the ball, hit the throws the scheme hands him, and let the rest of the roster carry the day.
The Colts are a problem, though. Indianapolis has been winning close games, and a 9:30 a.m. ET body-clock start in a neutral stadium flattens whatever home-field edge either side imagined it had.
The Real Question Is November
One week of Mariota is manageable. A pattern is not. Daniels has now missed consecutive games with an injury he has suffered before, in a season where Washington cannot afford to bank losses while it waits for a joint to cooperate.
There is no reported timeline for his return beyond Sunday, and nobody has said whether surgery is coming. Washington’s plan appears to be to keep taping it up and hoping. That works until it does not.
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.