The Washington Commanders hope the 2026 NFL season lets Jayden Daniels stay healthy. Last season, injuries derailed Daniels’ attempt to replicate his rookie season, when the Commanders reached the NFC title game.
Due to injury, Daniels only played 405 total snaps for Washington last season, earning a 74.8 overall PFF grade. Moreover, he threw for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Daniels also recorded 10 big-time throws and eight turnover-worthy plays. On the ground, Daniels added 248 scramble yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Washington avoided taking risks to protect Daniels, as he saw very limited action during the preseason, to ensure he makes it to Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the focus around Daniels is his health and whether he can avoid injury, the third-year QB has taken steps to improve his game.
Moreover, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn noted the development he’s witnessing from Daniels that could help him replicate his rookie-season production.
“In a lot of ways, when you go through the difficult moments, you can come back stronger in a lot of different ways, and being out toward the end of last season, this is a real competitor,” Quinn told WUSA9 in a Sept. 8 video. “That was hard. Going into the offseason, added more armor, a new system to learn, go for it.
“The motivation was already high, and then he just ratcheted it up even higher. You see him do that, and others did that as well. Collectively, he was able to help lift others just by the way that he worked, helping them get in that space as well.”
Commanders HC Spotlights Jayden Daniels Mindset
Quinn also says he was surprised by how prepared Daniels and the rest of the Commanders are when they arrive at training camp.
“I would say just the readiness that the team came back in to really push themselves,” Quinn stated. “They came back at a higher level of conditioning, and so maybe I was wanting it to be here, and so to see them surpass that at the start of it, that was a big deal. Then I would say the second piece is just seeing how hard Jayden Daniels has gone for it.
“New system, new offense, he’s gone for it as hard here as I’ve seen anybody go for anything. The details, the attention to it, it just seemed to fit him, but it didn’t happen by accident. It’s a lot of early mornings and late nights to get ready, and so he’s one that’s definitely stood out to me on that topic.”
The head coach is probably hoping that mindset helps them get off on the right foot, beginning with Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 13.
Jayden Daniels Must Limit Times He Puts on Superman Cape
Recently, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes the Commanders QB should also be responsible for staying healthy and not put all the responsibility on the offensive line.
Breer notes that Daniels needs to understand Washington doesn’t need him to play Superman as often as he did, which contributed to his injury-plagued 2025 season.
“Some of these guys are capable of being Superman, and when they were in college, they could kind of put the cape on whenever they wanted, ” Breer said during a Sept. 4 appearance on 106.7 The Fan.
“The balance for a lot of coaches working with these guys when they come into the NFL is teaching them, ‘Hey, look, if you only put on the cape five or ten plays, that’s actually more effective for us than you trying to put on the cape twenty or twenty-five times in a game.’
“You’re going to make defenses defend more of the field. You’re going to keep them more off balance when you do decide to flip that switch.”
Commanders Reveal Key Jayden Daniels Growth Ahead of Eagles Game