While it might seem to the rest of the world that the Washington Commanders are dead and buried, no one seems to have informed the Commanders yet.
It’s the only reason we can explain away the reported internal debate over whether to bring second year quarterback Jayden Daniels this season opposed to shutting him down and focusing on 2026 after he dislocated his left elbow in a Week 9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks — part of Washington’s current 6-game losing streak.
It’s the third injury that has forced Daniels to miss games this season following a sprained knee in a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers and a pulled hamstring in a Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Sitting at 3-8 headed into their Week 12 bye followed by a Week 13 road game against the Denver Broncos — a team on pace to break the NFL’s single season sacks record — it’s not clear why the Commanders are still having an internal debate over whether Daniels should come back. It seems clear he shouldn’t. Why risk the future of the franchise for a meaningless game at the end of a lost season?
“Washington’s situation with Daniels is more complicated from my view,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on Wednesday, November 17. “Sources have maintained that while Daniels could return as quickly as three weeks from the occurrence of the injury (so, Week 13 vs. Denver), the team has loosely braced for a five-to-six-week absence just in case. That tells me that shutting him down remains a possibility, based on his durability this season (three separate injuries) and the team’s current standing. Big-picture talks about how to proceed will play out over the coming days and provide clarity one way or the other.”
Other Things to Consider With QB Conundrum
While it seems like the obvious move would be to shut down Daniels, there are more things to consider than just what happens with the one individual.
The biggest one of those is team morale. While it seems smart to not let Daniels get back on the field, it might lose the locker room and send a bad signal to those who will remain in 2026 (not everybody, though) that it’s not the “same old, same old” Commanders franchise.
What the smartest thing to do would be, behind the scenes, to make a plan to not formally announce Daniels isn’t playing again this year until the Commanders lose their 10th game. No NFL team has made the postseason with 10 wins.
Interestingly enough, the Commanders are one of 2 teams in NFL history to lose 9 games and still make the playoffs, when they went 7-9 in 2020 and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Commanders Have Brutal Stretch After Bye
With 6 games remaining in the regular season after the bye in Week 12, it appears as if the only game the Commanders have a chance to be favored in is a Week 15 road game against the equally inept New York Giants.
The other 5 games are against teams who will all likely be playoff contenders or playoff locks down the stretch, including 2 games against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the last 3 weeks.
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