There has been zero speculation at quarterback since the Washington Commanders drafted Jayden Daniels in 2024, which has been a breath of fresh air for the franchise given how things at the position went prior to that offseason. If Daniels is healthy, he's going to be under center; if not, then it will be Marcus Mariota.

For the past two years, the only question at the position has been whether the Commanders have kept two or three quarterbacks on the roster. It's not a common practice around the NFL, but the Commanders like the flexibility it gives them if an emergency does arise. For at least the first half of camp, though, it felt like there was a chance they would buck that trend to keep as many offensive weapons as possible.

Seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis is making it difficult for the Commanders to do that, though, and as he gets more opportunities on the field, the stronger the case becomes that he deserves to survive final cuts.

"Just constantly getting better, striving towards perfection, even though it's not attainable," Kaliakmanis said after the Commanders' preseason game against the Detroit Lions.

Kaliakmanis, who split his college career between Minnesota and Rutgers, is not like the quarterbacks the Commanders have gone for under head coach Dan Quinn. He doesn't have the same skill set as Daniels or Mariota, meaning he's not going to escape the pocket or use his legs to create explosive plays. He can be accurate with the ball, but he doesn't have the elite arm strength that other players possess.

And yet, there's something about Kaliakmanis that helps the offense operate efficiently when he's under center. That was the case against the Lions, as the Commanders put up 163 yards when he was on the field. He completed 11 of his 14 passes for 162 yards with zero sacks during the game, outgaining every other quarterback who played in the 17-13 Lions win. It was a noticeable improvement from his preseason debut against the Miami Dolphins, when he went 6-of-10 for 87 yards with two sacks.

Over the last two preseason games, Kaliakmanis is tied for ninth in completion rate among quarterbacks with at least 24 attempts with a passer rating of 104.3.

"I was pleased to see him in the chaos," Quinn said following the Dolphins game. "He felt calm in the space tonight. I'll be looking forward to watching him. I thought you'd see his arm strength come out a little bit, and it did, on some of the play-action passes."

Kaliakmanis didn't get on the field against Miami until the second half, although he started off well with passes to Antonio Williams and Colson Yankoff for a total of 33 yards. Only one of his drives ended with points -- it came after a fourth-quarter interception from the Commanders' defense, and all he did was hand the ball off to Kaytron Allen for four plays -- but there were signs of the traits the front office saw when they decided to use a draft pick on him. Although he doesn't have elite mobility, he knows how to evade pressure in the pocket. He showed a confident command of the offense, and it led to some explosive plays like his 28-yard pass to Jacoby Jones.

He described his performance as having some positive and negative plays -- he said after the game he wanted to learn from the sacks and a few tipped passes -- but he felt the work he put in during practice helped give him confidence.

"I think it just goes into your preparation," Kaliakmanis said. "Having confidence in your preparation, knowing that I don't need to be a superhero today. I just need to trust the game plan. I need to trust my teammates and go out there and execute."

Perhaps Kaliakmanis' best trait in practice and the preseason games has been his willingness to give his receivers a chance to make plays. The two best examples of that came against the Lions. His first pass of the second half came on a second-and-8 to Jaden Bradley, who had his man beat but still had a safety close enough to him to make a play. Kaliakmanis laid it out for Bradley, who secured the ball with one hand while falling to the ground for a 30-yard pickup.

"It was nice to see a deep play like that," Quinn said. "And as a receiver, you want your chances for the shot play. The guys were excited for him [Bradley] on that one."

The next play came on the first play of the fourth quarter. With the ball at the 25-yard line, Kaliakmanis connected with Nick Nash, who had beaten the cornerback down the right sideline. Nash caught the ball at the Lions' 45-yard line and carried it another 25 for a 55-yard gain, helping set up a field goal.

It was a highlight moment for Kaliakmanis, but he gave all the credit to his teammate.

"I just trust my receivers," Kaliakmanis said. "I've always been that type of player. I've been the type of player to throw it up and give my guys a shot. So, that's what I did, and he made an incredible play. Great play by Nash, and I appreciate him for that."

It's still not a given that Kaliakmanis makes the active roster once final cuts are made this weekend. Aside from how the battles at other positions work out, he and Sam Hartman have been going back and forth for weeks as they try to make their best cases to be the third quarterback on the depth chart. Both players got fair shots at that against the Lions, as they alternated possessions once Daniels and the starters wrapped up their series.

The battle between the two players could come down to the final day before cuts, and there are some important evaluation opportunities ahead of them this week between the joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens and the preseason finale between the two teams on Aug. 28. The joint practice will be mostly for the starters, but Kaliakmanis and Hartman should get all the reps in the game.

If Quinn is leaning one way or the other, he isn't showing it. There are things to like from both players and how they run the offense in their own, unique ways.

"They're battling for it," Quinn said. "There will be a bunch of things we're gonna want to look at to keep digging in. The other game coming up is so important for them...managing the clock, working it all, being in tough scenarios, feeling the rush that they don't do that in practice. So, the next practice, the next game, will be super valuable for the both of them."

And of course, Kaliakmanis wants to be on the roster. He's felt like Washington was the right place for him to be since he was drafted, and he loves being in the quarterback room. He's not worried about what might be, though; his sole focus is being in the moment and improving as much as possible.

"It's just constantly fine tuning the details, working on it, improving on it and getting better," Kaliakmanis said.