In the Washington Commanders' Week 2 game versus the Dallas Cowboys, quarterback Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow, the second time he's suffered this exact injury in his career. He missed the subsequent game versus the Seattle Seahawks, but backup Marcus Mariota led the Commanders to a 33–31 win over the reigning Super Bowl champions. Daniels opted to avoid surgery so he could get back to the field quicker and not miss the remainder of the 2026 season.
It was originally expected that the quarterback would miss the Week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts in London this weekend, but then Daniels was seen practicing with the team on Wednesday in England with a brace on his left elbow. This raised the question of whether Daniels is an option to start in Week 4. So, can Daniels play on Sunday?
The quarterback spoke to reporters on Thursday and said he's taking his injury "day by day," but didn't shut down the possibility of taking the field this weekend. "I'm not surprised [to be back on the field so soon]," Daniels said, via ESPN. "Everything I went through, everybody said I would be good to go if I'm able to be out there Sunday.
But I'm taking it day by day." A concern for Daniels should be the potential of him re-aggravating the injury. Last season, he dislocated his elbow in Week 9, and then re-aggravated the injury five weeks later, which put him out for the remainder of the 2025 season. When asked if he's nervous about this situation happening again this year if he returns too quickly, Daniels didn't seem worried.
"That's what the brace is for," Daniels said. "If I had that concern, I would have gotten surgery. "Obviously you have those conversations with people I need to have those conversations with," Daniels continued.
"If the surgery was needed to be ASAP, then I've got to do what's best for me. We had those conversations. I was blessed enough to go back out there on the practice field ...
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