Jayden Daniels Dislocates Elbow Again, Washington's Season Is Suddenly Shaky

Sports admin September 22, 2026 0 Comments

Jayden Daniels Dislocates Elbow Again, Washington’s Season Is Suddenly Shaky

The Commanders lost 37-20 in Dallas on Sunday, and that might be the least important thing that happened to them.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow on the final play of the first half, head coach Dan Quinn told reporters afterward. X-rays didn’t show a fracture.

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Daniels flew home with the team and has more imaging scheduled for Monday, so the full picture isn’t in yet.

How It Happened

Washington trailed 17-10 with three seconds left and the ball at the 1-yard line. The Commanders skipped the field goal and ran a play with Daniels under center. He stumbled on his drop and reached out with his left hand to steady himself, and that’s when the elbow came out of place.

He still tried to finish the play, a shovel pass that fell incomplete, before dropping to the turf. The Washington Post described him leaving on a cart with his arm in an air cast and a towel over his head.

It’s a shame, because he was rolling. ESPN has him at 11-of-17 for 96 yards and a touchdown, plus 69 rushing yards on seven carries. It was the kind of game that looked a lot like the 2024 version of him, the one who won Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Same Elbow, Same Worry

That’s what makes this hurt. Daniels hurt the same elbow last season. He returned after about a month but reinjured it in Week 14 at Minnesota and didn’t play again. Fox Sports counts 10 missed games for him in 2025.

After a 2024 season that ended in the NFC Championship Game, last year was, as NFL.com put it, a slog for both him and the team.

CBS Sports expects him to miss multiple games this time. Quinn’s message to the locker room was that the team would “rally so hard around Marcus (Mariota) until Jayden’s back,” according to the same NFL.com report.

Mariota Steps In

Marcus Mariota takes over again. He went 11-of-16 for 111 yards and a touchdown in the second half Sunday.

He went 2-6 as a starter last year, though CBS notes he played decently behind a defense that was arguably the worst in the league.

That’s a low bar for optimism, but Washington will take it.

What to Watch

Monday’s imaging is the number to wait for. Beyond the medical side, ESPN reports that people in the building are worried about what Daniels has been through mentally, and that he told teammates he’s OK.

The Commanders will also hear plenty of questions about that goal-line call, which put their quarterback in harm’s way with the game still within reach.

The next few weeks will tell us how much Washington can lean on Mariota, and how long it has to.

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