Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is “week-to-week” with a rib injury suffered early in Sunday’s victory over the Carolina Panthers, head coach Dan Quinn said Monday.
Quinn said of the injury, which he did not describe in specifics, “It’s not going to be something that’s going to knock him out for a long term.”
“The status for Jayden we’ll put down as week-to-week,” Quinn said. “We’ll take him through all the steps at practice and assess how he’s doing and keep working through that. We’re hopeful he can play, but we’ll also make sure to take every precautionary step and do it smartly for the player and the man.”
Quinn confirmed that Daniels, 23, was injured when he “fell awkwardly” at the end of a 46-yard run on the team’s first offensive play. Daniels stayed in the game to complete the series, which ended with a field goal, before he was replaced by veteran Marcus Mariota for the rest of the contest.
“He was able to finish out that drive, but it was the best call to wait it out,” Quinn said.
The host Commanders won 40-7 to improve to 5-2. Daniels finished with three rushes for 50 yards and completing both pass attempts for 6 yards.
Quinn said Daniels would not return to action until recovery is completed.
“We’re not going to miss one step of this, all the way through. It’s really important to get it right, and we will,” Quinn said. “He’s such a unique player that I want to make sure he can be him(self) full in his own way. The movement, throwing and all the stuff that would go with that.”
Daniels has started all seven games and has completed 127 of 168 passes (league-best 75.6 percent) for 1,410 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has 66 rushing attempts for 372 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and four TDs and is the early favorite to be the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
The Commanders selected the last season’s Heisman Trophy winner second overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU. The top pick, quarterback Caleb Williams of Southern California, went to the Chicago Bears (4-2), who visit Washington on Sunday.