In an already nightmarish post-Halloween Sunday night game for the Washington Commanders, the unthinkable happened. Star second-year QB Jayden Daniels suffered a serious elbow injury in the fourth quarter. The former Heisman winner out of LSU was buying time near the goal line when he got hit by Seahawks LB Drake Thomas. Multiple Commanders players were in tears on the field while Daniels was down on the field surrounded by medical staff, and he was quickly escorted to the locker room with his left arm in a stabilizing brace.
Commanders HC Dan Quinn has taken some heat for his decision to leave Daniels in the game. The injury occurred midway through the fourth quarter when Washington was already down 38-7 to Seattle with next to no hope of mounting a real comeback to make the game competitive again.
Daniels has already missed time this season with a hamstring injury. This is just the latest in a series of bad injury breaks for Washington this season, especially on offense. In the same game, CB Marshon Lattimore is believed to have suffered a torn ACL.
With Daniels out indefinitely, the Commanders will once again turn to backup QB Marcus Mariota, who’s thrown for 639 yards and four touchdowns in three starts so far this season.
Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn on His Decision to Leave QB Jayden Daniels in the Game
Greg Fiume/GettyLANDOVER, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders walks to the locker room after injuring his left arm during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in the game at Northwest Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
“I know many of you have been asking about the thought process of Jayden being in the game in that situation,” Quinn opened Monday’s press conference by saying. “And I get that. I’ve been thinking about it, honestly, non-stop too. And for me the answer is, man, I missed it.”
“I’ll fill you in on my thought process: at the start of the fourth quarter — I guess there were like twelve and a half minutes left in the game — that was going to be the last drive for a couple of guys. Jayden, and [TE] Zach [Ertz], and [WR] Deebo [Samuel], and [LT Laremy Tunsil]. And so we were gonna have read/run plays, meaning no carries for the quarterback on a run, and honestly man that’s where I missed it.”
“Of course he can scramble, he’s Jayden. It’s what he’s special at. And that is, one hundred percent that’s on me. Also, as I said last night in the presser to our fans, man did we miss our mark as a team with that performance. We need to fix it. They created an awesome environment, you know, at the stadium for the game. And that fix needs to be done and it needs to be done now.”
Washington Commanders HC Dan Quinn on QB Jayden Daniels’ Injury
Beyond just taking the blame for Daniels’ injury, Quinn also offered a brief update on his status.
“We can confirm Jayden did dislocate his left elbow,” Quinn said. “No timetable on that right now. Still gathering the information on that.”
Commanders HC Dan Quinn Takes Blame After Jayden Daniels Injury