Quarterback Jayden Daniels is "day-to-day" with a knee injury, head coach Dan Quinn confirmed following the Washington Commanders' 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers last Thursday.
Daniels had an MRI after sustaining an injury in the second half of the game, Quinn said during his Monday press conference. He has already begun his "return to play" process, although it is unclear at this point whether he will be available for the Commanders' Week 3 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Quinn said he will have more information once the team returns to practice on Wednesday.
"We've got a good plan of how to return to play for him," Quinn said.
Quinn said Daniels was hurt on a tackle while scrambling away from Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons and got hit from "the opposite direction." Daniels did finish the game and threw a touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel after the hit. Quinn added that the Commanders are not going to miss a step with his recovery.
"We know how important he is," Quinn said. "That's why I say it's truly day-by-day to make sure that he can absolutely be himself."
The Commanders have established a standard of making sure players are not rushed back onto the field, electing instead to take their time to ensure the players are completely healthy and not at risk of reinjuring themselves or worsening their condition. For Daniels, whose skill set includes being mobile in and out of the pocket, Quinn needs to see that he still has the strength to make the proper movements and change of direction.
"We'll just take it as it goes through the week," Quinn said. "But we'd have to see all of the steps along this week to hit those marks -- the speed, the stopping, the change of direction -- all of it."
The Commanders intend to take the decision as to who will start at quarterback against the Las Vegas Raiders all the way to Friday. If Daniels is unavailable, the team will start backup Marcus Mariota, who completed 77.3% of his passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in two appearances. His last throw of the season was a game-winning touchdown to Terry McLaurin against the Dallas Cowboys.
"If called upon, this is an elite competitor, teammate, player," Quinn said of Mariota. "Our confidence in him is through the roof based on who he is...and what he's shown to us here."
The Commanders will monitor three other players this week: tight end John Bates, wide receiver Noah Brown and cornerback Jonathan Jones. Both Bates and Brown suffered soft tissue injuries against the Packers, and Quinn said he considers them "long shots" to play against the Raiders.
Quinn also announced that running back Austin Ekeler and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. have been ruled out for the rest of the season after being carted off the field against the Packers, saying that both players had "a tremendous impact" on the team, both on and off the field.
