Jayden Daniels Travels To London With Commanders As He Continues Elbow Injury Recovery
No surgery. No injured reserve. Just a brace, a plane to London and a quarterback who told his teammates he owes it to them to get back as soon as possible. Jayden Daniels is making the trip to England, and Washington is cautiously optimistic.
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn confirmed on Monday that Jayden Daniels will travel with the team to London on Tuesday night and is expected to practice in some capacity this week ahead of their Week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. The Commanders leave for London Tuesday evening and are scheduled to practice Wednesday through Friday before the 9:30 AM ET kickoff. It is the second time Daniels has dislocated his left elbow in 10 months, having first suffered the same injury in a Week 9 loss to Seattle last November. He missed three games following that injury, aggravated it upon return, and was shut down for the final four games of the 2025 season.
Quinn was measured about the chances of Daniels actually playing Sunday. "The thought that Daniels could be back for the game is a bit far-fetched," one report noted, though the news of him practising is already ahead of the most pessimistic projections from the moment he left AT&T Stadium in an air cast two weeks ago.
Jayden Daniels Elbow Injury Update: What the Medical Tests Revealed
Examinations conducted after the dislocated left elbow, suffered when left guard Chris Paul accidentally stepped on his foot near the goal line in the second quarter against Dallas, showed no fractures and no extensive ligament damage. That finding opened the door to a faster recovery than the initial diagnosis suggested. No surgery has been scheduled. Like last season, a procedure is expected to take place after the 2026 campaign rather than during it.
Daniels has told teammates he won't have surgery and said he owes it to them to return to the field as soon as possible, according to CBS Sports. Quinn confirmed the decision came after specialist evaluations in New York and Los Angeles. "We're just following the guidelines for him going through the process of him getting opinions from New York and L.A. We'll stick to that," Quinn said.
Washington Commanders at 1-2 With Mariota Providing Cover
Washington upset the Seattle Seahawks 33-31 in Week 3 with Marcus Mariota starting in place of Daniels, in what was Mariota's 83rd career start. The veteran quarterback threw three touchdowns and managed the game effectively enough to give the Commanders their first win of the season and remove any immediate urgency to rush Daniels back. The Commanders' early 1-2 record reflects the turbulence, but the Mariota bridge has so far held. Whether Daniels practices enough in London this week to be cleared for Sunday is the question the medical staff will answer in the coming days.