Who made the decision?
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is healthy enough to play, Commanders coach Dan Quinn told us that last week. He said there was no structural damage had occurred to Daniels, the team was determined to let Daniels rest the arm for a week, and then the Commanders would finish with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Eagles.
But to determine now, he can’t be ready to play at least the last two weeks? Quinn expressed nothing close to such a concern last week, following the medical team looking at Daniels’ left arm being stressed against the Vikings. Consequently, this is officially a shutdown.
Thus, second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels is only going to start and complete three games in his second NFL season of 2025.
So, did GM Adam Peters decide to sit Quinn? There is nothing wrong with this chain of command if that is how owner Josh Harris hired Peters and Quinn. As long as they know their boundaries and stay in their respective lanes of responsibility, yes, the Commanders can determine to sit Daniels for these last three NFC East games.
Last week, Quinn had again expressed that Daniels needed the football reps and that Daniels would soon be healthy enough to play these divisional games, closing out the season. Yet, here we are, only Monday, Quinn declares Daniels will not only not be playing this week against the Eagles, but that he won’t be playing the final two games (Cowboys, Eagles) either.
The conspiracy theorists will be very active and loud on this one, but it need not necessarily be the case. It appears Quinn was being honest when he said he thought it best that Daniels play the final three games, and then it appears Quinn might have been involved in a discussion that led to the decision to shut down Daniels for the season.
It’s times like these that speculation is to be expected, and thus the Commanders could have gotten out in front of it. How much would it really have hurt for Peters to appear for the first half of today’s press conference, make the announcement, clarify the process that went into the decision, and take a couple of questions, leaving the rest to Quinn as scheduled?
So, for now, we are still left to question, ‘Who made this decision?’
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Who really made call on Jayden Daniels?
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