The status of Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels remains up in the air with about 24 hours or so before the team kicks off its Week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears.
But if it were up to Daniels, there wouldn’t be any question about his status:
Jayden Daniels: pic.twitter.com/0xSpncFGAr
— John Keim (@john_keim) October 25, 2024
“I want to play, but (it’s) not my decision,” Daniels told reporters on Friday.
Washington’s QB1 wants to play ball (per the video above from ESPN’s John Keim), but it might not be his call at the end of the day.
Jayden Daniels, who was listed as questionable to play on Friday’s injury report, needs to get medical clearance before he gets the OK to play on Sunday. Considering Washington fans saw what it looked like to rush a QB back from an injury when Robert Griffin III was the hot-shot rookie of the moment, I imagine that franchise might want to play it safe (even if the quarterback wants to give it a shot.
Will Jayden Daniels suit up against the Bears?
In case you missed it, Daniels suffered a rib injury in Washington’s Week 7 win against the Carolina Panthers. The injury occurred in the first quarter. But with the game well in hand (c’mon guys, it was the Panthers … you already know what it is!), there was no need to rush Daniels back into the game. Since then, we have been on Jayden Daniels injury watch — which has amounted to equal parts gamesmanship and genuine curiosity.
Daniels did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. And after not being spotted during the portion of practice that was open to the media on Friday, it was revealed that Washington’s top rookie practiced in a limited capacity to close the week. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that Daniels would participate in a Saturday walk-through, which could (in theory) lead him to get medical clearance before Sunday’s game.
Hey, maybe we’ll get that Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels matchup between the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft after all. Stay tuned.