The Jayden Daniels Tracker

[HOF44]

A QB throwing to guys that can’t get open while being blitzed because the D knows that can’t get open will not develop a QB it will Ramsey them.

If he’s healthy and TM and Noah are back that’s a different story.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Not putting your future franchise QB back out there after 3 successive injuries in a meaningless season and ‘wanting to lose on purpose’ are no where near the same things.

There are certainly people who want to lose on purpose for draft position, but I suppose you could want to put Jayden on mothballs without wanting to tank, so fair enough. That said, I would bet that everybody who wants to tank also wants to sit Jayden.

 

[Boone]

I will never advocate for tanking. So I feel you on that. But taking care of Jayden should trump everything imho. This season is toast.

 

[skinsmarydu]

There are certainly people who want to lose on purpose for draft position, but I suppose you could want to put Jayden on mothballs without wanting to tank, so fair enough. That said, I would bet that everybody who wants to tank also wants to sit Jayden.

OK, so NO.
I don't wanna tank ever. Fuck that.
I want that great human being throwing TDs for my team for a decade or more. And in order to keep him upright (y'all know I'm screamin' O-line like I've been doing for 20 years), it's getting tough out there.
We got issues. Putting our kid out there and letting something else happen just ain't worth it.

 

[bowhunter]

Football is a team sport. If you're gonna sit JD5, are you also going to sit McLaurin, Amos, Newton, Tunsil, and every other player under contract for 2026?? Jayden is a football player who is paid to play football, and if you have to park him because you think he's not capable of simultaneously playing football and staying healthy (Win or Lose) then why is he here? To play football or to stay healthy??? I understand that RG3 traumatized our fanbase, the hope and the hopes dashed, I rode that pony right along with ya. But if we're scared of having the talent play football again, then we don't want what the team, coaches, or ownership want, and they're on the right side. Redskins/Commander play football and I want my QB to play football as well, because meaningless football is still meaningful. The lyrics don't state to "Rest!! For old DC..." HTTR

 

[Commander Wraith]

Football is a team sport. If you're gonna sit JD5, are you also going to sit McLaurin, Amos, Newton, Tunsil, and every other player under contract for 2026?? Jayden is a football player who is paid to play football, and if you have to park him because you think he's not capable of simultaneously playing football and staying healthy (Win or Lose) then why is he here? To play football or to stay healthy??? I understand that RG3 traumatized our fanbase, the hope and the hopes dashed, I rode that pony right along with ya. But if we're scared of having the talent play football again, then we don't want what the team, coaches, or ownership want, and they're on the right side. Redskins/Commander play football and I want my QB to play football as well, because meaningless football is still meaningful. The lyrics don't state to "Rest!! For old DC..." HTTR

If his qb was throwing hospital balls on the regular, yeah, I’d probably sit McLaurin if the post-season was out of reach, or for the rest of that game if it was a blowout. The others you mentioned don’t (IMO) have an analogue to Jayden’s situation - the injuries, the scrambling, the lack of supporting cast (including a defense that makes him feel like he has to play hero ball).

With that said, I’m all for playing JD if we have Terry healthy, if Kliff commits to protecting him (running the ball, added pass pro, etc). If it looks like a bunch of other games - Daniels getting hit, scrambling regularly and so on, I’d hope they’d then pull him. (Probably) Try again the next week. I don’t love the binary ‘if we’re eliminated, then bench him’ though.

It’s sort of a gray area. It would be a judgement call for me - I’d know it if I see it.

 

[Chris]

Quinn shouldn’t have pulled JD near the end of the Seattle game. I mean, the team was only down 31 and the Broncos cane back from 60 something in the final quarter to beat New York. 😎

 

[bowhunter]

The others you mentioned don’t (IMO) have an analogue to Jayden’s situation -

I didn't go down that rabbit hole, but it all comes back to the opening sentence of Football being a team sport. Sitting a teammate because you are fearful of them getting injured, could lead to crazy scenarios such as:
If Tunsil doesn't play, Jayden might be blindsided and lost for the season.
If Amos doesn't play, we might be down by a couple of scores and Jayden has to abandon the run game and get creamed by a ever blitzing team.
If McLaurin doesn't play he has to hold on to the ball for WR6 to get open, and take a hard hit.
If Newton doesn't play, Saquan runs through the evergaping hole up the middle, and the Eagles DL eats our lunch with their ears pinned back.

All of the teams potential starters for 2026 will (should?) be playing games 10-17. This team fights for Jayden, and rallies around him. Some might call it charisma, leadership, or "it." Parking him for reasons other than actual injury will take away exactly what makes him special.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I'm with SIP. I think I sit him for the season. Trotting him out doesn't really help with hsi development. If somehow we get on a winning streak then maybe it changes, but with the defense we have and with the receivers/weapons we have, there is really no good reason to put Daniels out there. The only thing he could learn is bad habits.

I am assuming Terry and maybe even Noah are back. If he-they are. And Jayden is heathy. And its more than just 1-2 game, I'd absoluetly start him. So I think relatively speaking, i am more in favor of playing him than some others here.

As Steve Suter, does film review for Sheehan said, he's worried about him playing with this WR corp, as to developing bad habits. So yeah if it remains the same bad WR corp. I don't want to compound that. But if Terry is back and Noah back, I think Jayden could look like Jayden and to me that's a good way to end the season versus the ugly way it would end otherwise.

Also, it would be flat out weird to sit out your franchise QB for lets say 4-5 games because you want to put him in a bubble. I can't think of any precedent for that. for any team anywhere. Again, assuming he's healthy. If he's not 100% or close to it I wouldn't risk it.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I didn't go down that rabbit hole, but it all comes back to the opening sentence of Football being a team sport. Sitting a teammate because you are fearful of them getting injured, could lead to crazy scenarios such as:
If Tunsil doesn't play, Jayden might be blindsided and lost for the season.
If Amos doesn't play, we might be down by a couple of scores and Jayden has to abandon the run game and get creamed by a ever blitzing team.
If McLaurin doesn't play he has to hold on to the ball for WR6 to get open, and take a hard hit.
If Newton doesn't play, Saquan runs through the evergaping hole up the middle, and the Eagles DL eats our lunch with their ears pinned back.

All of the teams potential starters for 2026 will (should?) be playing games 10-17. This team fights for Jayden, and rallies around him. Some might call it charisma, leadership, or "it." Parking him for reasons other than actual injury will take away exactly what makes him special.

Agree. to that same point too why not Tunsil? Why does it have to be just Jayden in that case. Tunsil you got banged up, you are a franchise LT, why risk it? Amos has been banged up of late, he should sit, too. Terry has been banged up multiple times this season, if he's healthy finally screw it, just call it a season and pack his bags and go back to Indy to rest. With the same logic, they should go in the preseason mode and at a minmum sit down all the players who have had injuries this season and are important to the future.

I am being sarcastic to make a point. But the thing its generally not done. It's done sometimes if its the last game, maybe too. But 5-6 games? Not for players who are healthy at the time.

Also, I do think there is some value of ending strong. For those that know my posting history, I am generally on the opposite side of that point, I want a bad season t just go off the rails to bring change and high draft picks. But for this team to go from on top of the world to being one of the worst teams in the NFL -- I thin showing some grit at the end has value.

I bemoaned (among others here) the lack of depth at Wr before the draft. It ended up even more nightmarish than I expected. If in the last third of the season Terry is back, and Noaj, its a big deal.

How a Washington Commanders team on the rise was knocked off track

The 2024 Washington Commanders seemed to find all the right things — on the field and off. This season has been entirely different.

www.nytimes.com

How a Washington Commanders team on the rise was knocked off track​

Washington’s minimal depth at wideout, however, was noticeable long before the season started. McLaurin and Brown were missing for almost all of training camp and preseason because of a contract stalemate and knee injury, respectively.

Watching the offense operate for weeks without the two should have been a red flag. Washington’s high-scoring group from a year ago lacked consistency and reliability throughout camp, leaving Daniels with few trusted playmakers around him. Things only got worse: Brown injured his groin in Week 2, McLaurin injured his quad in Week 3 and pass-catching running back Austin Ekeler hurt his Achilles in Week 2. Ekeler’s versatility in the run and pass games cost the offense a reliable playmaker who was one of the team’s best at creating separation and getting yards after the catch.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

I think it’s rather simple. If Jayden is healthy as are Terry, Noah, Deebo, etc., he should play. If it’s near the end of the season and these receivers can’t go, there’s no point in getting those reps.

 

[Chris]

In hindsight there was a very large ‘tell’ in the preseason. Many, many reports by observers of training camp about how good the defense looked vs the offense.

Talk about a canary in a coalmine. 👀

 

[Boone]

I am mostly reacting to the *reasons* some are giving for brining Jayden back this year. There are only 2 reasons you do it and those are 1) you are still in the playoff hunt mathematically. That would mean winning at least one of the next 2 games - which would make 10 wins still achievable. I doubt that would get us in based on our conference play but it would be possible. 2) Jayden is fully healthy and needs the reps. As SiP and others have said, teams don't just put QBs in bubble wrap because the team around them sucks. I think it depends on whether Jayden is fully healthy (and I mean fully). No knee issue of any kind, left elbow FULLY healed and back to normal. In that case I agree there is no precedence for holding him out. But if he's not fully healthy, I'd absolutely put him in storage for the rest of the way. A late season injury would be the worst possible outcome of all.

The complicating factor in the discussion is that we don't know the severity of the dislocation. It LOOKED severe. We do know there were no fractures, so that's good. But you can damage ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves in that kind of dislocation and we don't know to what extent there was damage, only that there were no bone breaks or injuries requiring surgery. I understand it's the non-throwing arm, but you still need full use of that arm without numbness, pain, weakness etc... especially in the hand. So that's a lot of words to say, I'm not sure he's ready to come back by the Denver game. And if he's not, playoffs will be eliminated as a rationale to bring him back.

This is the kind of call that I hope Adam Peters is ultimately making. Our coaches have a huge interest in having him back in there as soon as possible. They may or may not have to worry about what's best for the franchise in the long-term. Peters presumably is the one focused on the big picture and making sure we take care of the important piece on this roster.

 

[HTTR]

That’s totally reasonable Boone. I think we all agree that if he’s not fully healthy, there’s no discussion to be had.

And I believe we mostly all agree that we don’t want him out there in trash time in any blowouts, or say the meaningless last game of the season.

It’s really just a question of whether we give him a couple games once we are eliminated to try to get some confidence and good vibes going, or do we just err on the side of caution completely and bench him.

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong here, it’s kind of a gut feel. I say let’s get to the point where we are eliminated and he is in fact 100% healthy, and then revisit the discussion. If things at that point look as dire as they do in this moment with injuries and stuff, I’ll probably be with you.

And did you see how bad Denver looked Thurs? I do believe we can beat them with Mariota. I understand about the Defense, but you can win with a shitty defense in the NFL. We did it last year.

 

[Chris]

Everything about this is ‘to be determined’. We are spending a lot of brain energy on hypotheticals. At this point those that matter in the equation can’t be certain, and we definitely can’t be certain, about how his health will progress. All we can do is speculate based on a plethora of unknowns.

I am of the mind that I want him to be 100% healthy. If he is, players play. If he’s not, discretion is the better part of valor.

 

[bowhunter]

There are only 2 reasons you do it and those are 1) you are still in the playoff hunt mathematically. That would mean winning at least one of the next 2 games - which would make 10 wins still achievable. I doubt that would get us in based on our conference play but it would be possible. 2) Jayden is fully healthy

Mr. Boone Sir,
Are those reasons conjoined by an "AND" or an "OR?"
If your answer is an "AND" then I am regretfully going to have to disagree with you (I guess we both knew this day would come eventually .) If we park JD once the playoffs are out of sight, they are essentially "giving up" on the team, the culture,the players, and any potential free agent who wants to come here to win. I would understand if we pull the starters in a final game bloodbath type situation. But taking our ball and going home isn't what we should be aiming for

 

[Boone]

No - I would use OR. I previously said I would 'bubble-wrap' Jayden if the games are meaningless (which I predict they soon will be). Of course, those arguing JD needs as many live reps as he can get as a QB who is still learning, and sitting healthy starting QBs is not the NFL norm, are correct. I get that. But I think it comes down to a matter of degree, mostly related to when he comes back and more importantly, at what degree of 'health'. There is 'NFL healthy' which means if you can stumble out there and basically do most QB things, you play. And then there is truly being healthy, which Jayden has had about 15 minutes of in 2025.

If Jayden is only 'NFL healthy' (ie... still having issues and limitations in what he can do) and we have no chance to make the post-season, I'm bubble wrapping him. If he's genuinely healthy, you get him back out there and cross your fingers he stays healthy.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I think it’s rather simple. If Jayden is healthy as are Terry, Noah, Deebo, etc., he should play. If it’s near the end of the season and these receivers can’t go, there’s no point in getting those reps.

Tha summarizes it for me perfectly

 

[skinsinparadise]

In hindsight there was a very large ‘tell’ in the preseason. Many, many reports by observers of training camp about how good the defense looked vs the offense.

Talk about a canary in a coalmine. 👀

Yeah I was at one of the camp practices. The offense couldn't move the ball. The question was is the secondary THAT good or was it their scrub backup WRs suck. The answer as the season progressed was loud and clear.

In retrospect, stuff like their UDFA, Vigers, is lights out in practice against the WRs yet in preseason he's getting lit up like a Christmas tree actually means something.

Ditto some local reporters took grief I notice on twitter from the fans when they said they didn't think this team looked hot in the scrimmage against the Pats among other things I recall some saying Maye was destroying the secondary. Most of the Pats reporters said the Pats dominated that practice. The Washington locals were more mixed with Finlay having the most positive take and I recall Keim said they lost both lines of scrimmages.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Ditto some local reporters took grief I notice on twitter from the fans when they said they didn't think this team looked hot in the scrimmage against the Pats among other things I recall some saying Maye was destroying the secondary. Most of the Pats reporters said the Pats dominated that practice. The Washington locals were more mixed with Finlay having the most positive take and I recall Keim said they lost both lines of scrimmages.

I am one of those disappointed in our local media who had to see the signs, and chose to gloss over them. When things are this bad, they don’t just start being this bad when the real bullets fly. Not that it would have made this any better to have known it could be this bad, but I’m annoyed with everything at this point. 🤣