Rap: Daniels (elbow) back in three weeks or sooner

Daniels played mostly mistake-free football in this one, but a lost fumble on a strip-sack by Myles Garrett near the end of the first half proved costly as the Commanders had a chance to add to their 10-3 lead before halftime. His lone touchdown pass of the day came on a seven-yard pass to Van Jefferson, who surprisingly ended up leading the Commanders with 58 receiving yards on the day, but Daniels and the offense struggled to generate much offense in the second half against a defensive front that featured both Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett together for the first time. Daniels saw 115 of his passing yards come on his final two drives of the game as he attempted to mount a comeback, but some off-target throws and two sacks on the game’s final drive all but buried any hopes of a comeback. Daniels’ disappointing showing on the ground marks the third straight week in which he has rushed for 23 or fewer yards, and he has managed only 10 rush attempts over that stretch. Now sitting at 2-5-1 on the season, Daniels and the Commanders will look to turn things around on a short week as they prepare to face the Giants on Thursday Night Football. He profiles more as a low-end QB1 until he begins to add more value in the rushing game.

Daniels started the game going 4-of-10 passing in the first quarter, which included an interception that was called back due to penalty, two false start penalties in the red zone, and a missed field goal, causing the Commanders to quickly fall into a 10-point deficit. They would clean things up from there as they rattled off 27 unanswered points to improve to 2-4-1 as they chase the division-leading Giants. A 53-yard completion to Treylon Burks and 30-yard completions to Antonio Williams and Stefon Diggs gave the offense explosive plays in key situations during the final three frames to boost Daniels’ counting stats despite poor efficiency. The win was the first victory in a Daniels start since 5 October of the 2025 season as the Commanders saved their season, at least for the moment. They get a difficult matchup against the Rams in Week 9, where Daniels will remain a middling QB2.

Shipley mentions the Commanders and Rams as wideout-desperate teams who might be interested in trading for Thomas before the NFL’s trade deadline. The Jaguars have apparently soured on the one-time burgeoning star in recent weeks; against the Texans in Week 6, Thomas ran a pass route on just 28 percent of the Jags’ drop backs and saw two targets. The Commanders, meanwhile, lost Terry McLaurin to a potentially long-term knee injury on Monday night. Thomas, per Shipley, “is not a trade that would make a ton of sense for a Commanders team that might be losing a ton of games and needs their picks to rebuild ... but it would make sense for a general manager who needs to keep his job to give his quarterback a familiar and talented target. Daniels was Thomas’ quarterback during their final seasons at LSU, and the connection between the two could go a long-way toward solving some of Washington’s long-term issues at the wide receiver position.” BTJ’s fantasy prospects would get a big boost if he were to land in Washington in the coming weeks.

The Commanders gained just 90 yards of total offense and ran just 17 offensive plays in the first half, taking a 20-3 deficit into the break. Two quick touchdown drives to end the third quarter and begin the fourth quarter had the team in position to pull off an improbable comeback but two critical errors from Daniels sank that effort. The first error occurred on fourth down in the red zone with just over two minutes to play, when the team was late to break the huddle and ended up taking their first timeout down by six. They would fail to convert but would get the ball back with no timeouts and 52 seconds left. Daniels then committed an intentional grounding penalty from the San Francisco 28 with 16 seconds left, which incurred a loss of down and a 10-second runoff on the clock. The game would end on the following play. That now makes consecutive contests with late-game clock mismanagement that cost the Commanders potential wins. Rumors continue to swirl about a potential coaching change as the Commanders limp into their bye at a 1-4-1 record.

Daniels turned in one of the best games of his career on the ground on Sunday against the Giants. Daniels broke off an uncontested 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put the Commanders up 19-6, and later broke free for a 26-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to again extend the Commanders’ lead. Both runs came on scrambles where the Giants seemingly forgot Daniels was a threat to run at any moment, and Daniels made the most of his opportunities. With the Commanders in range for a game-winning field goal late in overtime, Daniels inexplicably took a sack with no timeouts left on what appeared to be an attempt to center the ball in time for the game-winning try. We’ll likely get an explanation from both Daniels and head coach Dan Quinn on that final play, but Washington snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to move to 1-3-1 on the season. Despite the late-game gaffe, Daniels looked on-point for most of the afternoon, but struggled at times against the blitz, as the Giants brought pressure in several key spots to force Daniels to get the ball out quick or throw it away. Daniels looked like the elite dual threat fantasy managers want to see, and will be firmly in the QB1 ranks in next week’s game against the 49ers.

Schefter immediately added the caveat that the “overwhelming opinion” among doctors was that playing with a brace was a viable option. Daniels reportedly contemplated surgery after dislocating his elbow for the second time in less than a year. He opted against it and missed two games. Daniels is now set to return for Week 5 against the Giants. The Commanders could scale back his rushing for the time being, but OC David Blough already dismissed the idea that the playbook would be limited because of Daniels’ elbow injury.

Rapoport, typically cheery on the injury front, said that there are still “a lot of questions, going forward, for Jayden Daniels.” The bottom line is that Daniels is still rehabbing the elbow in his non-throwing arm. He should be able to throw and run effectively, putting him squarely in the QB1 tier, but re-injury risk remains a factor.

Daniels appeared to be close to playing in Week 4 against the Colts before ultimately being ruled out. His being upgraded to a full participant in Thursday’s practice suggested he was a virtual lock to start in Week 5, barring any unexpected setbacks. Daniels will wear a brace on his left arm for the rest of the season in hopes of avoiding a three-peat of his dislocated elbow. Daniels will be without Stefon Diggs (hamstring) for Sunday’s game, and rainy/windy conditions are currently in the forecast. We’ll conservatively project him as a mid-to-low-end QB1 in what could be less-than-ideal conditions on Sunday.

Daniels is practicing in full and is expected to return to the lineup this week. He has suffered the same elbow dislocation twice in the past year, but his game-changing running ability is a big part of what makes Daniels a potential superstar quarterback. Blough might be more tactile with how he calls quarterback runs, but they will still be in the playbook this week. Daniels will be a low-end QB1 once he is officially cleared to play.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo already reported that Daniels is expected to play in Week 5 and a full practice to open the week all but confirms his update. With Marcus Mariota also banged up, seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis would have been the next man up. He will back Daniels up as long as the latter doesn’t suffer any setbacks. The Commanders will likely dial back the designed runs for their franchise quarterback, but fantasy managers have to start him as a low-end QB1 as long as he’s on the field.