As the Washington Commanders play out the final three games of a lost 2025 season, quarterback Jayden Daniels will be watching from the sideline.
According to reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Commanders have decided to shut down Daniels for the remainder of the regular season. His second year in the pros is over after 15 weeks and seven starts. Washington’s backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota, will start the rest of the way.
Daniels, 24, battled injuries throughout his second season after managing to stay healthy for all 17 starts as a rookie. In Week 2, he sprained his left knee and missed two games. In Week 7, he injured his hamstring and missed Week 8. Daniels returned in Week 9’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ meeting with the Seattle Seahawks and suffered a dislocated left elbow in the final moments of the Commanders’ loss. He missed the rest of November – three more games.
The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year returned for Week 14’s game against the Minnesota Vikings before re-injuring his elbow and departing early. Daniels missed Week 15’s win over the New York Giants.
Rapoport wrote on social media that Daniels was not cleared for the Commanders’ Week 16 game. With Washington also set to play the Cowboys on Christmas in a short week, the team instead decided to shut down its quarterback for the season with nothing left to play for.
Jayden Daniels injury update
Daniels will miss the rest of the 2025 season as the Commanders prioritize his health over extra reps for a 4-10 squad.
Both ESPN and NFL Media reported Washington’s decision to shut down Daniels for the rest of the year. The second-year quarterback is still recovering from the dislocated elbow injury he sustained in Week 9, then re-aggravated in Week 14.
Rapoport, of NFL Media, wrote on social media that the Commanders had been unable to clear Daniels for contact after a re-evaluation on Dec. 15. With Washington uncertain of Daniels’ Week 16 status – ahead of what would be a short week thanks to the Commanders’ Christmas Day game – the team decided to bench him for the rest of the year.
Daniels finishes the 2025 season having started in seven games across 15 weeks. He missed two games with a knee sprain, one game with a hamstring injury and four total games with his dislocated elbow.
This season was the first in which the LSU product had missed significant time since his college days. Daniels only missed two games in his collegiate career in stints at Arizona State and LSU – once as a true freshman in 2019 and once sitting out LSU’s ReliaQuest Bowl appearance in 2024 to prepare for the NFL draft.
Jayden Daniels stats
Daniels finishes his 2025 season with a 2-5 record in seven starts, a significant step back from his 12-5 rookie season.
Here’s how Daniels’ numbers looked in an injury-marred second year:
Completion rate: 114-of-188 (60.6%)
Passing yards: 1,262
Passing touchdowns: 8
Interceptions: 3
Passer rating: 88.1
Rushing stats: 58 attempts for 278 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns
Who is the Commanders’ backup quarterback?
Marcus Mariota is Washington’s backup quarterback. The 2025 season is his second serving as the Commanders’ second-string signal-caller.
Mariota has appeared in 10 games for Washington this year, starting in seven of them. The Commanders have gone 2-5 in games Mariota has started, with their two wins coming in Week 3 and Week 15.