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John Keim
ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been medically cleared to return, paving the way for him to play Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Coach Dan Quinn said Daniels will be considered a full participant in the Commanders’ practice Wednesday. He was limited last week.
“I plan on going out there on Sunday,” Daniels said.
During the portion of practice open to the media, Daniels took his usual reps while still wearing a brace on his left knee under his black sweats. He said he does not like wearing the brace but “if that’s what I have to wear then I’ll do anything possible.”
Daniels missed the past two games with a sprained left knee suffered in Week 2 when Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard hit him with his helmet at the end of a scramble. The Commanders (2-2) went 1-1 with Marcus Mariota at quarterback, scoring a combined 61 points on offense in those games.
“Obviously as a competitor you want to go out there and help your team in any way possible,” Daniels said. “So being sidelined for this past couple of weeks were super tough.
“I felt like I could go two weeks ago but I don’t make those calls.”
Quinn said that Daniels will get all the reps and that he wants to make sure the quarterback is back at full speed and executing the offense with the proper timing.
“That’s what I’m looking for,” Quinn said. “He’s definitely chomping at the bit to get going. … Just running the offense, being back to himself.”
Daniels said last week that he felt like himself, but Quinn said Friday that the second-year player had not yet been medically cleared.
The coach said that Daniels has taken a “steadfast approach” to putting in the work to get better and that the team has seen him back throwing at full speed. Though Daniels maintained he could have played had it been left up to him he said he knows the team did not view him as returning to himself until “probably this past weekend.”
Quinn also said it wasn’t easy telling Daniels that he wouldn’t play the past two weeks, but that because they’ve been together for 18 months, he knows how his quarterback looks when ready.
“And having trust in one another to do that,” Quinn said, “that’s a big piece of it.”
Daniels won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2024. In Washington’s first two games this season, he completed 43 of 72 passes for 433 yards and three touchdowns.
Daniels has run 18 times for 85 yards.
“The only thing worse than missing games is not taking lessons,” Quinn said. “[On] scrambles, when do I get down? When do I go out of bounds? Jayden is still growing. That’s the fun and exciting part. He’s not anywhere near the top of what he’s going to be, so that lights me up.”
Daniels said he’ll continue to run, though he continues to find that balance between knowing when to protect himself and when to keep going forward.
“Obviously you want to be able to be available for the rest of the games,” he said, “but you’ve got to be smart and that’s kind of what we talked about, just living to see another down. But just know that the game is on the line. I’m going to do whatever it takes.”
