Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow during a pivotal game on Sunday. This injury happened in the wild-card round match-up against the Seattle Seahawks. The injury occurred with 7:39 remaining in the fourth quarter and has raised concerns about his availability for upcoming matches. This blow comes on the heels of multiple injuries suffered this season including a sprained right knee and a hamstring injury.
Daniels was under tremendous duress the entire game, getting pressured on 29 times, getting hit 14 times (per TruMedia). Though he was able to avoid pressure on five straight throws, he was eventually pushed out of the pocket. Daniels chose to scramble right instead of giving the ball to senior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. Sadly, he was tackled, and in the process his left elbow bent the wrong way.
Head Coach Dan Quinn said he wished he had made different game-time decisions. He knew he was supposed to start thinking about taking Daniels out before that awful drive. At one point, Quinn didn’t even think about pulling Daniels. Unfortunately, the injury has caused him to reconsider that decision.
“It’s players, it’s coaches, it’s all of us, man,” – Dan Quinn
Daniels missed three games this season due to injury. In Week 2, on the first play of the fourth quarter vs Green Bay, he sprained his knee, and then a hamstring injury forced him out early in the third quarter on the road against Dallas. The cumulative impact of these injuries begs concern over his long term health and production.
Quinn underlined his motivation for caring about Daniels as a person not just as a player. He called Daniels a special athlete whose impact on his team goes beyond the box score.
“I care about Jayden the person much more than the player. The player is phenomenal, one of the best players in the league. He meant so much to me, to see him down like that in pain is tough. Football is a tough sport, a physical sport. To see injuries like that is difficult.” – Zach Ertz
Following the injury, Quinn said Daniels would be out for the foreseeable future. He made it clear the Commanders aren’t planning on signing any other QBs immediately. Despite that, this decision reinforces the team’s commitment to their current roster.
“That’s what I think about all night and nonstop.” – Dan Quinn
For Evans, the injury has shaken up the team’s entire locker-room chemistry as they now have to re-organize in proceeding games without their star player. For the Commanders, their internally christened “quarterback factory” is now forced to plan their next moves with an eye on putting Daniels on the mend.
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