ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will miss Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders because of an injured left knee.
For a third consecutive day, Daniels was unable to practice fully on Friday, and coach Dan Quinn said the reigning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year won’t play this week. Marcus Mariota will replace Daniels in the lineup and make his first start since 2022 with the Atlanta Falcons.
Quinn said Daniels was limited in practice Friday; the QB was not on the field during the portion of the team’s work that was open to the media.
Daniels sat out practice on Wednesday and Thursday because of the knee and was wearing a brace on his left leg in the locker room. His status for Sunday had been up in the air.
He was hurt in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 27-18 loss at the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. Daniels was sacked four times and faced pressure throughout the game from a blitz-heavy Packers’ defense.
Quinn said earlier this week that Daniels was going through rehabilitation work on the knee and doing movement and throwing drills on his own. But Quinn said he would want to see Daniels participate in practice with teammates before letting him play on Sunday.
Mariota appeared in relief of the starting QB in three games each in 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles and 2024 with Washington.
“We have the utmost confidence in him,” Quinn said about Mariota.
Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oregon, was with two other quarterbacks — Josh Johnson, who likely would be Mariota’s backup if Daniels doesn’t play, and practice squad member Sam Hartman — who were throwing on a field separate from the rest of the players at the start of Friday’s practice.
Mariota was rested during this year’s training camp and preseason because of Achilles tendinitis and said that he’s felt back to normal for a couple of weeks now.
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