Commanders QB Jayden Daniels frustrated and disappointed by injuries he calls 'freak accidents'

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ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jayden Daniels was “frustrated, disappointed" during his second year in the NFL, he said Tuesday, by the various injuries he called “just freak accidents” that limited him to seven games before the Washington Commanders shut him down.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since coach Dan Quinn announced Monday that Daniels wouldn't play again this season, the quarterback who was the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2024 said he wasn't thrilled with the decision to limit him to practicing the rest of the way but he understood it.

“It was obviously disappointing. I’m a player; I want play," Daniels said. “But I wasn’t medically cleared to go.”

He said he was surprised to have missed so much time, including with a sprained left knee, a bad right hamstring and, most recently, a dislocated left elbow that sidelined him for more than two months after it was hurt during a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 5.

Daniels returned from that injury to his non-throwing arm on Dec. 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, but he aggravated the problem in the third quarter of that game when he was shoved to the ground by a defender after throwing an interception.

While Quinn said after that game that he decided to hold Daniels out that day even though the QB could have returned, Quinn and Daniels later said the elbow was sore afterward and so the Commanders started Marcus Mariota this past weekend, when Washington (4-10) — which already had been eliminated from playoff contention — ended an eight-game losing skid with a 29-21 victory over the New York Giants.

Mariota will be back under center on Saturday against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) in a rematch of last season's NFC title game. Washington then hosts the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 25, before ending the season at Philadelphia.

“They're building for the future, and (Daniels) should feel confident ... that they’re making a decision that they feel is best for the entire organization,” Mariota said. “It's, at the same time, tough as an athlete. You want to be out there. We all understand that.”

As a rookie, Daniels appeared in all 20 of Washington's games — including leading them to a 12-5 record in the regular season — and completed 69% of his passes for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 891 yards with six TDs.

This season, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner at LSU and No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft owns a completion rate of 60.6% with 1,262 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. His passer rating slid from 100.1 to 88.1. He ran for 278 yards with two scores.

“Now,” Daniels said Tuesday, "(I'm) just focused on getting healthy and preparing for next year.”

Asked whether he can work on anything during the offseason to avoid the health issues he's had, Daniels responded: “That’s a tough question. I mean, I can’t really avoid the injuries that I’ve dealt with — those are just freak accidents.”

NOTES: The Commanders put WR Noah Brown back on injured reserve with a rib injury after he got hurt against the Giants. That was only his second game back after missing nearly three months with knee and groin issues.

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