Commanders Turn To Marcus Mariota After Sudden Jayden Daniels Shakeup

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 4:16 AM

commanders turn to marcus mariota after sudden jayden daniels shakeup

The Washington Commanders are staring down a critical stretch in their season, and they'll be doing it with a new face under center. With rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels sidelined due to injury, veteran Marcus Mariota steps in as the starter heading into Week 10’s matchup against the Detroit Lions. It’s a pivotal moment for a Commanders team trying to stay in the hunt, and Mariota’s opportunity comes with more than a touch of irony. Like Daniels, Mariota was once the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Now, nearly a decade removed from that selection, he’s being asked to channel some of that early-career promise to steady a team in need of direction.

Daniels went down in rough fashion during the Commanders’ Week 9 loss on Sunday Night Football. With the team trailing by 31 points late in the fourth quarter, Daniels took off on a scramble - something fans have already come to expect from the dynamic rookie. But the play ended with a hard takedown and an ugly-looking injury to his left arm. The way his arm bent on the fall was alarming, and the diagnosis confirmed it: a dislocated elbow. Trainers immediately immobilized the arm in a cast, and Daniels was helped off the field. Considering how painful and awkward the injury looked in real time, the initial concern was that Daniels could be out for an extended stretch.

But there’s a bit of optimism coming out of Washington. The Washington Commanders are already missing their starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels, due to a dislocated left elbow. In the third quarter of Sunday's game in Madrid, backup QB Marcus Mariota went down after a play and needed attention from trainers. It could press QB3 Josh Johnson into action. Johnson is about as well traveled as any quarterback could be (14 different teams), and he's a veteran presence with some solid athletic skills, but the Commanders certainly wouldn't want to spend a long... Mariota was injured in the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins.

The Commanders will add their name to a week of headlines dominated by backup QBs. Star quarterback Jayden Daniels did not practice Friday and was ruled out for Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders as he deals with a knee sprain. No. 2 QB Marcus Mariota will get the start under center against his former team in Week 3. Daniels suffered the injury in last week’s loss to the Packers in which he was hit 12 times and sacked four. “If called upon, we would certainly expect Marcus to deliver in the fashion that he does,” head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday.

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota is close with Jayden Daniels. From the time Washington signed Mariota in 2024 and drafted Daniels No. 2 overall, the pair grew close, in part because of shared experiences. Mariota knew what it was like to be the No. 2 overall pick and be a franchise savior. He was the No.

2 overall pick back in 2015. He was once considered the savior of a franchise before settling in as one of the NFL's top backup quarterbacks and the perfect friend and mentor to Daniels. Last year, Daniels often spoke about how important it was for him to have Mariota. Mariota was frequently a sounding board for Daniels. And when he did play, he was excellent. The Commanders brought Mariota back in 2025 and, unfortunately, he's had to play more.

He has started three games this season in place of Daniels, who missed two games with a sprained knee and one game with a strained hamstring. Daniels is set to miss more time beginning in Week 10, when the Commanders host the Detroit Lions. Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which will cost him significant time, if not the season. While Mariota appreciates the opportunity to play, his thoughts are with Daniels. Last week, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn faced considerable backlash for his decision to keep quarterback Jayden Daniels in the game. Daniels ended up suffering an injury, one that could’ve easily been avoided had he not been participating in a game that was well out of hand.

The Commanders’ season hasn’t gone according to plan, and this injury was yet another setback. Thankfully for the Commanders, Ian Rapoport revealed that the team’s initial assessment of his elbow injury wasn’t nearly as severe as initially thought. What could’ve been a season-ending injury turned into a minor injury that the team will manage in the immediate future. Sitting at 3-6, the team has a pair of games before they enjoy a Week 12 Bye. At this stage, the team is opting not to put Daniels on the injured reserve list. Knowing that, they expect him to miss fewer than four games.

It’s safe to assume they’re planning to have him for Sunday Night Football on November 30 against the Denver Broncos, though they’ll play it by ear. Moving forward, Marcus Mariota will be the starter. Daniels could return as soon as November 16 in Madrid, although it remains to be seen how the team will handle his injury. Knowing he was already banged up earlier in the year, it’d be smart to take the safe route and have him sit an extra week, especially knowing they’ll be playing a struggling 2-7 Dolphins... The Washington Commanders are going to need to rattle off some wins to save their season. They're going to have to do it with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota as the new starter in place of the injured Jayden Daniels.

Mariota's new stint starts Sunday in Week 10. The Commanders take on the Detroit Lions in the late afternoon window. In a bit of irony, Mariota was once the No. 2 overall pick, just like the player he is replacing, Daniels. The Commanders and their fanbase will hope he can play like a guy once drafted that high. The Commanders’ turnaround from a four-win team to the NFC Championship Game last year has made them a potential Super Bowl contender overnight.

Coming into 2025, they are one of the most dangerous teams, thanks to improvements on defense and continuing refinement of the weapons around superstar franchise QB Jayden Daniels. Unfortunately, the goodwill from last season lasted just one week as they ran into a buzzsaw in Week 2 in the form of the Green Bay Packers. Being dominated, their record stood at 1-1, albeit with a winnable game against the Las Vegas Raiders on the horizon in Week 3. However, in a shocking development, a different second-round pick will be the starting quarterback for Washington in that game. But why is Marcus Mariota getting the starter nod? During their 27-18 Week 2 loss to Green Bay, a stifling Packers defense featuring EDGE Micah Parsons did a number on Daniels.

He finished with just 200 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing less than 60% of his passing attempts. His ability to run the ball, too, didn’t create much of a difference, as he added just 17 yards on the ground on seven carries. A major reason for that drop off turned out to be a knee injury that lingered for Daniels throughout the week. The Washington Commanders are staring down a critical stretch in their season, and they'll be doing it with a new face under center. With rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels sidelined due to injury, veteran Marcus Mariota steps in as the starter heading into Week 10’s matchup against the Detroit Lions. It’s a pivotal moment for a Commanders team trying to stay in the hunt, and Mariota’s opportunity comes with more than a touch of irony.

Like Daniels, Mariota was once the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Now, nearly a decade removed from that selection, he’s being asked to channel some of that early-career promise to steady a team in need of direction. Daniels went down in rough fashion during the Commanders’ Week 9 loss on Sunday Night Football. With the team trailing by 31 points late in the fourth quarter, Daniels took off on a scramble - something fans have already come to expect from the dynamic rookie. But the play ended with a hard takedown and an ugly-looking injury to his left arm.

The way his arm bent on the fall was alarming, and the diagnosis confirmed it: a dislocated elbow. Trainers immediately immobilized the arm in a cast, and Daniels was helped off the field. Considering how painful and awkward the injury looked in real time, the initial concern was that Daniels could be out for an extended stretch. But there’s a bit of optimism coming out of Washington. LANDOVER, Md. — Marcus Mariota smiled coyly as he recounted the moment he barreled across the sideline and right over his head coach, who went flying backward with such force that his headset flew off before...

“I felt so bad,” the veteran quarterback said. “I was trying to hold him up as much as I could.” It was late in the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday when Mariota, in his first start for the Commanders and his first start of any kind since 2022, took a... A run-of-the-mill shove that turned, well, bloody. Commanders players rushed to Dan Quinn’s side as the coach quickly popped up with a bloodied nose, shook his head to try to regain his faculties, then slowly made his way back to the... Moments later, as a 56-yard field goal attempt by kicker Matt Gay sailed through the uprights, Quinn raised his fist in celebration as blood dripped along the front of his nose, then jogged back...

Washington Commanders starting quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome elbow injury during Sunday night’s 38–14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In his absence, quarterback Marcus Mariota has stepped in, tasked with leading Washington until Daniels is able to return. A look at the video of the injury and many feared that Daniels would be out for the season. Daniels will "miss several games" per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport - but it looks like the injury may not be as bad as initially expected. Enter Mariota - who has been a dependable backup and a strong mentor for Daniels, providing leadership both on and off the field. Now, the question is whether the former Oregon Duck can rise to the occasion and guide the Commanders to wins, starting with an upset victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

With Washington eager to bounce back, all eyes will be on Mariota to see if he can deliver when it matters most. One NFL insider has his doubts... NFL on CBS discussed what Washington is capable of with Mariota at the helm. The take? Without Daniels, the Commanders are not playoff contenders.

Commanders Turn To Marcus Mariota After Sudden Jayden Daniels Shakeup

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