Jayden Daniels Identifies Commanders Main Thing

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 6:52 AM

jayden daniels identifies commanders main thing

When is the last time you saw Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels' face? Perhaps it was in a highlight reel, or while you were rewatching one of the Commanders' 14 wins from 2024. Or, it might have been in a social media ad, in a post helping celebrate another athlete's accomplishments, or even during the Washington star's trip to Europe, taking in soccer matches or visiting some... Wherever you've seen him, he says football has never been too far away from his mind. "None of this (is) going to happen without the play on the field, so you got to keep the main thing the main thing," Daniels said when asked about all of his offseason activities... "But I got a greater team around me, my team personally and then Washington got a great PR team and obviously Dan Quinn and Adam (Peters), they do a great job of if I...

Daniels may have been an older quarterback relative to being a rookie in the NFL Draft last year, but that doesn't make this offseason any less of his first one with the spotlight shining... Ensuring Jayden Daniels avoids a sophomore slump is the most important task for the Washington Commanders this offseason, and the coaching staff has taken it seriously by undergoing work to change three key things... Those changes were detailed by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer on Monday, June 23. He explained how a meeting with “Taylor Kelly, the coach at 3DQB (and former Arizona State quarterback) whom Daniels works with in Orange County,” laid out the ways the Commanders want Daniels to change. Tweaking the Offensive Rookie of the Year’s mechanics has involved “refining his lower body movement on certain throws—something quarterbacks are always working on—was one thing. Working on some specifics on throws to Daniels’s left, and his arm angle on those throws, was another.”

Breer also outlined the way offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury “and the rest of the offensive staff resolved to condense the offense and grow the things the Commanders did well, and throw out some of... The idea was to get razor sharp, rather than too complex, with the offense’s strengths, giving the players the spring to hone that.” Pinpointing what Daniels does well and having him employ laser-level focus on those things is smart coaching, but the Commanders also need the player to do his bit to maintain an upward surge. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels' gruesome injury was not bad enough to guarantee his season is over. According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, Daniels' dislocated left elbow was not even severe enough to land him on injured reserve. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Nov.

7 that Daniels managed to avoid any ligament damage in his elbow and will therefore avoid surgery. Glazer said on Nov. 9 that Washington plans to re-evaluate its starting quarterback in three weeks, setting up a potential return to action shortly after the team's Week 12 bye. In the meantime, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota will continue to start behind center for the Commanders. In four starts this season, Mariota is 1-3. Daniels remains out for the Commanders' Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins.

The two teams will face off in Madrid, and two Hawaiian quarterbacks will start against each other for the second time this season – Tua Tagovailoa for the Dolphins and Mariota for the Commanders. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is more secure in the second season of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's scheme. That comfort has allowed him not only to take more risks but has also given him the opportunity to take on more responsibility as a leader on offense. After Monday's training camp practice, Daniels chatted with Bryan Colbert Jr. on an episode of Command Center about what being a leader looks like for him. "It just happened naturally," Daniels told Colbert, discussing his increased leadership.

"I don't really focus on it too much as far as that, but I pick and choose my spots of when I need to say something and when I need to speak up and... Things weren't right during the Commanders' 48-18 loss in New England on Aug. 8. With the first preseason showing left much to be desired, Daniels' teammates -- especially quarterback Sam Hartman -- still looked to him for advice, despite him not dressing out for the matchup. "I think it's just the same thing, same message," Hartman said. "Like even in practice, he'll tell me, 'You'll have your day, just keep battling.

Keep going and don't really focus on the result.' It's more so about the process and everything. Control what you can control. Once the ball leaves your hands and stuff like that, you can't really control it." The Washington Commanders have found their franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels. Washington was the talk of the NFL in 2024 and Daniels was a big part of that. Now the second-year quarterback is doing whatever he can to improve his game.

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels gave a humble answer when asked how he keeps perspective as an NFL player. “Yeah I think it's just the humility part,” Daniels said at Commanders training camp on Sunday, via SportsCenter. “Being grounded and never letting your ego — we always say in the quarterback room ‘check your egos at the door.' That's one of the main things that they harp because everybody has egos,... As human beings, that's human nature. But for us it's like okay how can I just go out there and take that away from me? Push the ego out the way and how can I be able to grow and get better?”

Daniels added that he knows he still has a lot to learn. He embraces the challenge of putting in the work in an attempt to become the best. “[I've] still got so much to learn and I'm striving to be a perfect player,” Daniels concluded. The Washington Commanders' first season under head coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Jayden Daniels was always going to be one of learnings as the new regime lays the foundations for future success. After racing out of the starting gate to a 7-2 record, the Commanders then had their first big patch of trouble, going on a three-game losing streak. But their faith in what Quinn was doing never waivered.

Having snapped that losing streak pre-bye against the Tennessee Titans, the Commanders have emerged refreshed and ready to attack the season's final month. For Daniels, when asked where he sees the biggest area of growth for his team, as it turns out, its all above the shoulders. “I'll say just our ability to fight through adversity,” Daniels said. “Obviously, things don't go as perfect, as smooth as you want them to, but the resilience that we show and how we going to keep fighting to the end of the game win, lose,... I see that's the biggest growth and Improvement that I seen from OTAs to even now.” The Washington Commanders were one of the most surprising teams in the NFL during the 2024 season due to their preseason expectations.

Fans and analysts were cautiously optimistic after adding Jayden Daniels and signing Dan Quinn to be their newest head coach, hoping this combination could turn into something special. It turns out that this optimism was warranted, as the Commanders not only made the playoffs, but made it to the NFC Championship. Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year and looks to be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future. His play last season silenced some of the doubters he had coming into the league, including Chris Trapasso of CBS, who admitted that Daniels turned out much better than he ever expected in a...

Jayden Daniels Identifies Commanders Main Thing

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