Jayden Daniels is not coming back to play for the Washington Commanders against the Dallas Cowboys. The signal-caller suffer an apparent elbow injury, which is something he has already suffered, and left in the cart all the way to the locker room. This is the Commanders QB depth chart:
- Jayden Daniels
- Marcus Mariota
- Athan Kaliakmanis (emergency third QB)
Mariota replaced Jayden Daniels, who has been ruled out according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Last season, Daniels also wasn’t available much due to injuries. One in particular very similar to this one.
Daniels already suffered an injury to his left elbow
Jayden Daniels previously suffered a severe dislocated left elbow on November 2, 2025, during a game against the Seattle Seahawks. It was the same exact elbow he injured just now against the Cowboys.
Jayden Daniel’s left elbow just dislocated again… pic.twitter.com/IrOhp5hJnO
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) September 20, 2026
Daniels had the grit to still try and finish the play. According to medical clinic Access Ortho, dislocating the same elbow twice greatly increases the risk of chronic joint instability, permanent stiffness, and early-onset arthritis.
How much will Daniels be out?
While imaging and MRIs still need to be taken, it seems like this injury was almost identical to the one he suffered in 2025. In that case, he ended up missing three games for the Commanders.
However, given that this is a re-injury, he could probably miss even more time. This would mean Marcus Mariota is under center for the foreseeable future. Mariota is also a mobile QB, though he doesn’t bring the upside Daniels provides.
