ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels still has not been cleared for contact and his status for Sunday’s game at the Minnesota Vikings won’t be known until Friday.
Daniels has missed Washington’s past three games with a dislocated left elbow — and has been absent for a total of six of the club’s 12 games this season. The Commanders (3-9) have lost seven games in a row, a year after going 12-5 during the regular season and making it all the way to the NFC title game, with Daniels appearing in all 20 of their games.
Asked Wednesday whether he is optimistic that Daniels will be able to return against the Vikings, Commanders coach Dan Quinn said that he is “optimistic he’s going to get a lot of reps for practice.”
During the brief portion of practice that was open to reporters on Wednesday, the reigning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was throwing on a side field with the other quarterbacks, including top backup Marcus Mariota. Washington is 1-5 in the games Mariota has started this season, including overtime defeats against the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos in the past two outings.
“I’m going to take it all the way through Friday,” Quinn said about making a decision on Daniels. “There’s still functional evaluations to go through.”
The coach said Washington’s medical staff will “also wait for the whole week, too. They have more testing and movements to examine.”
Tests last month showed that Daniels did not need surgery.
Quinn said he is optimistic that wide receiver Noah Brown, who is on IR with a groin injury, will be available on Sunday. Another starting wideout, Terry McLaurin, returned to action last week.
Daniels hurt his non-throwing elbow in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 2, when his left arm bent awkwardly as he braced himself while being tackled in the fourth quarter. Washington already was down by 31 points at the time, and Quinn acknowledged the next day that it was a mistake to still have his starting QB in the game.
Asked last month whether there was any thought given to shutting down Daniels for the season, Quinn replied: “That’s not something we really discussed internally.”
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