Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels participated in practice on Friday for the first time since injuring his ribs, which forced him out of Washington’s Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Daniels missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday and is now a game-time decision for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, who have rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California, was picked one spot ahead of Daniels, the 2023 Heisman winner from LSU, in the 2024 draft.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn mentioned that the team will wait to decide on Daniels’ status until they see how he responds to Friday’s practice. If Daniels can’t play, backup Marcus Mariota will take over.
“Jayden was able to practice today,” Quinn said. “We followed the plan we set at the start of the week. … Think crawl, walk, run.
“We will assess how he responds to the work we did over the next 48 hours, but we really pushed it today. We’ll make the best decision for him and the team.”
Mariota stepped in and led the Commanders to a 40-7 victory against Carolina. Daniels left the game after the first drive and didn’t return. He was injured during a 46-yard run on Washington’s opening drive, finishing with three carries for 50 yards.
Mariota, who has played in 92 career games, also has a tendency to run with the ball like Daniels. Last week, he had 11 carries for 34 yards and completed 18 out of 23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
This season, Daniels has made 66 rushing attempts, gaining 372 yards and scoring four touchdowns. The Commanders are considering whether to let Daniels take more hits to his ribs by running the ball again.
Quinn stated that Daniels will play if he can handle returning to practice on Friday, but the final decision won’t be made until Sunday.
“How does your body respond from really getting pushed to go? I would say that’s what we need to see,” Quinn said. “The testing is ongoing to get to that spot, but it was a good day.”
