The Washington Commanders are 1-3 and probably won’t have quarterback Marcus Mariota at their disposal this weekend against the NFC East Division rival New York Giants. That essentially means that either Jayden Daniels gets healthy enough to start this week and returns, or the Commanders can essentially kiss their 2026 campaign goodbye.
Should Daniels remain out, Washington will have to start seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis. And while that does not guarantee a loss, it drops the team’s win probability significantly in a game in which the Commanders will already be betting underdogs.
If Washington starts 1-4, the path to the playoffs becomes exceedingly difficult to tread, if not next to impossible. And if the Commanders produce another losing campaign, head coach Dan Quinn could lose his job by the end of the year, if not before. Should that happen, the team’s two first-time coordinators could also be out.
Daniels, who was the No. 3 overall pick and is in just the third season of his four-year rookie contract, will remain the franchise QB moving forward regardless. The team will have a fifth-year option on his deal for 2028, which it will definitely pick up before the May 1 deadline.
But one more losing season and/or one more campaign defined by injury for Daniels in 2026 will turn next year into a make-or-break one for the QB’s future in Washington.
Yes, that is a great deal of extrapolation and it certainly does not all ride on one game against the rival Giants. But if things start to steamroll downhill for the Commanders in a serious and irreversible way, one may be able to pinpoint Week 5 of this season as the final straw/a meaningful pivot point in that descent.
Jayden Daniels Will Likely Play Against Giants if He Can Hit Full Practice Participation by Friday
Luckily for Washington and for Daniels, the QB’s outlook to start against New York and at least temporarily salvage the season is favorable.
“The outlook for the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels potentially playing this week against the Giants is positive,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote on Wednesday, October 7. “The key, I’m told, is having him in practice in full. Limited participation likely won’t be enough. If he’s a full go in practice by, say, Friday, he’ll get the green light.”
Daniels dislocated his non-throwing elbow in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. He suffered the same injury during the middle of last season, returned multiple weeks later but ended up re-aggravating the joint later in the year, after which his campaign ended.
Commanders Facing Several Other Injuries to Key Players Ahead of Giants Game
Washington has a handful of other injuries to significant players that the team must navigate this week.
Wide receiver Terry McLaurin is battling a hamstring concern, while offensive guard Sam Cosmi is dealing with a concussion.
Running back Rachaad White is also struggling with a shoulder injury, while safety Nick Cross is fighting an illness following an internal injury earlier this season.
Commanders Get Jayden Daniels News That Could Define Season, Alter Franchise