Jayden Daniels enjoyed a dream start to his NFL career. The second-overall selection by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft, the rookie QB led the franchise to a playoff berth, a spot in the NFC Championship Game, and secured NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors along the way.
However, his 2025 campaign is off to a rocky start. After a win over the New York Giants in Week 1, the Commanders struggled on a short week against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, losing by a final score of 27-18. In the loss, Daniels completed 24-of-42 passes for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he was sacked four times and pressured often by Micah Parsons and the Packers defense.
Now he’ll have to navigate a knee injury along with life in the NFL.
According to multiple reports, Daniels is dealing with a “sprained” knee. Per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the injury is not considered to be serious, but it does put his status for this weekend’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders in doubt.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that Daniels was dealing with a knee injury, with Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan reporting that the second-year passer underwent an MRI following the loss to the Packers.
Paulsen’s colleague JP Finlay of The Fan and NBC Sports Washington added some color to that report on Sunday, indicating that Dan Quinn would address the quarterback’s status on Monday. Finlay added “[f]rom what I hear there are some concerns but not major. I’d expect news from [Quinn] if not before and Jayden will likely miss some [practice] time.”
Quinn is set to speak with the media later this afternoon.
If Daniels misses time, Marcus Mariota is Washington’s backup quarterback.
