ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a knee injury, coach Dan Quinn announced Friday.
Veteran Marcus Mariota will get the start in place of Daniels, who was not on the practice field during the open viewing portion of Friday’s practice.
“We’re just not going to do this thing in a fast way,” Quinn said of Daniels. “We’ll do it in a smart way and make sure we make the right decisions. We know his importance to what we do.”
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Daniels sprained his left knee in a Week 2 loss at Green Bay and was unable to practice Wednesday and Thursday. Quinn said earlier in the week that he would want to see Daniels practice before making a decision on Daniels’ status for the game, expressing his desire to see his second-year quarterback run, pivot and cut — crucial parts of his game.
Quinn said Daniels was able to throw each day and even did some running Friday, though it was more linear and did not involve cutting. Quinn called his progress “encouraging” but that he was “just not there all the way yet.”
Quinn had said multiple times throughout the week that they understood Daniels’ importance to the organization and did not want to rush him back.
Washington (1-1) hosts the Raiders (1-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Mariota relieved Daniels in two games last season when he got hurt — in wins over Carolina and the regular-season finale at Dallas. In those games Mariota completed a combined 33 of 41 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns.
In the first two games Daniels completed 43 of 72 passes for 433 yard and three touchdowns while rushing for 85 yards. Last season, Daniels was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 after throwing for 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He rushed for 891 yards and six scores.
Meanwhile, Mariota will start his first game since Week 13 of the 2022 season with Atlanta. He has thrown a combined 67 passes the last two years — with Philadelphia and Washington.
Mariota was the second overall pick in 2015 by Tennessee, where he played his first five seasons. He said he has a strong connection with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. That connection, Mariota said, allows him to feel good about the plays being called. But there are other aspects of this offense that he said suits him well.
“I just love the aspect of being able to control the tempo of the game,” Mariota said. “We can huddle, we can get on the ball, we can do all sorts of different things but I think for all of us it’s just being confident in what’s being called and knowing that Kliff’s going to put us in a situation to be successful.”
With Daniels being ruled out, ESPN BET moved the Commanders to -2.5 (-125) after opening them at -6.5 on Sunday evening. Washington is now either 3-point or 2.5-point favorites marketwide.
