Jayden Daniels was spotted throwing Wednesday and is expected to be a full participant in practice, setting him up for a huge return against the New York Giants this Sunday. After the Commanders faithful had that gut-wrenching déjà vu in Week 2, seeing their star quarterback go down with *another* dislocated elbow, it looks like those fears might have been overblown. Daniels is right on schedule for his Week 5 comeback, and man, does that team need him.
The Return of the Commander-in-Chief
Seriously, this isn’t some crazy surprise, even with that Week 2 scare. Daniels was putting in limited practice every single day last week, showing everyone he was pushing to get back. The team played it smart, though, ruling him out for the Week 4 trip across the pond to face the Indianapolis Colts in London. Coach Dan Quinn was clear: Daniels wanted to play, but they opted for caution. That caution looks like it paid off now, because Quinn went on record, not just saying they *hoped* Daniels would be back for Week 5, but straight up *doubling down*. He said Daniels would get all the practice reps and *start* against the Giants. Talk about confidence, right? It’s not just Daniels, either. Wideout Terry McLaurin was reportedly working off to the side during practice Wednesday, and he could also make his return in Week 5. That’s a massive boost on both sides of the ball.
Disaster Struck, But Hope Remains
And let’s be real, that Week 4 game against the Colts? It was a mess. Not only was Daniels out, but backup Marcus Mariota went down with a knee injury that’s gonna sideline him for multiple weeks. That left the Commanders scrambling, throwing third-string rookie Athan Kaliakmanis into the fire. While the kid did sling his first NFL touchdown, he couldn’t rally the team, and they limped to a 30-13 loss. It looked like Kaliakmanis was set for a few starts, but Coach Quinn quickly shut that down. He was banking on Daniels’ return, and now it seems that gamble is about to pay off. After a rough 1-3 start, Daniels coming back feels like the only shot at injecting some much-needed optimism into this season.
The Commanders are in a much better spot with Daniels under center, no doubt. But here’s the kicker: there’s still a legit concern. Daniels battled this exact same injury last year, and get this, he was forced to leave his first game back after *aggravating* it. That’s a huge asterisk hanging over this comeback. The team and the fans have got to be crossing their fingers, toes, everything, that he avoids that fate this time around. They need him to pull them out of this early hole and get them back into playoff contention. It all starts Sunday against the Giants, and Daniels is the guy they’re looking to lead the charge.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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