What Happened To Jayden Daniels Why Marcus Mariota Is Commanders

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 16, 2025, 5:59 PM

what happened to jayden daniels why marcus mariota is commanders

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.

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. Marcus Mariota was an underrated member of the 2024 Washington Commanders.

Signed to be the backup quarterback to rookie Jayden Daniels, Mariota didn't expect to play much, but instead serve as a mentor and sounding board to Daniels. That's what happened. Daniels and Mariota grew close, with the star rookie explaining how important Mariota was to him last season. Meanwhile, Mariota enjoyed passing along the lessons of a fellow former No. 2 overall pick to the eager rookie. Mariota did get to play last season and was pivotal in two of Washington's 12 regular-season wins.

In a Week 8 game against Carolina, Daniels was injured in the first half, and Mariota relieved him, completing 18 of 23 passes for 205 yards with two touchdowns, while also rushing for 34... The Commanders won the game, 40-7. In the regular-season finale at Dallas, Mariota played the second half against the Cowboys after the first-team offense struggled. Mariota completed 15 of 18 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 56 yards on five carries, including a critical 33-yard run on fourth down to keep the eventual game-winning drive alive. A few plays later, Mariota found Terry McLaurin in the end zone to give Washington the come-from-behind win.

Mariota enjoyed his one season in Washington but understood there was no path forward for him to start. Still, the Commanders wanted him back, and Mariota wanted to come back, too. This offseason, he signed a one-year deal to return and back up Daniels for another season. Marcus Mariota wore a funereal look on his face as he addressed the media in the locker room following Jayden Daniels' injury at the end of the Washington Commanders' 38-14 loss to the Seattle... Like the rest of his teammates, Mariota's focus was on Daniels, who was escorted to the locker room in the fourth quarter with a cast on his hand. Daniels was later diagnosed with a dislocated left elbow, and while the team is still deciding on Daniels' next step, head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that it would keep Daniels out for extended time.

The injury is the latest wrinkle in what has been a frustrating season for Daniels. A knee sprain and hamstring injury forced him to miss three games earlier in the season. Now, with no timetable on his return, he's set to miss even more as the Commanders' playoff hopes slip farther out of reach by the week. It's a situation Mariota is familiar with, as he dealt with injuries earlier in his career that kept him sidelined for several key games. That experience has helped him guide Daniels through the rough patch in his second season and provide some advice for the young quarterback. "I think for all of us…wanna make sure Jay [Daniels] understands those things are out of your control," Mariota said.

"Focus on getting healthy, getting right, and everything else will take care of itself." The vast majority of the buzz leading up to this week's game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Commanders surrounded Washington's leading man. Reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels (knee) will be relegated to the Commanders' sideline with Marcus Mariota stepping in for his 75th career regular-season start. Daniels attempted to work his way back to the lineup and threw daily before adding speed work on Friday, but head coach Dan Quinn said the Commanders are opting for the safe route with... "We said at the beginning that we were going to be very diligent on his return to play and make sure that we didn't miss any steps," Quinn said. "So we're going to be smart, not just fast.

He's a player that wants to do everything all the time. That's who he is as a competitor, which I love. But that's how we'll roll." Daniels will miss his first NFL start as the Commanders (1-1) take on the Raiders (1-1) Sunday afternoon in Landover, Md., where Mariota is in for a reunion vibe. He played for the Raiders and the Las Vegas offensive coordinator is Chip Kelly, Mariota's college coach at Oregon. "Anytime he's asked to play or practice or even on scout team, he's been phenomenal," Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said.

"So, he treats it like a pro as a leader on the team despite not being the starter, which is hard to do and can't say enough good things about him. So, if he has to go, I'm sure he will be ready." Marcus Mariota is finally OK with being a backup in the NFL, since he found the perfect situation. The Washington Commanders‘ backup quarterback recently opened up about returning to the Commanders after he returned on a one-year, $8 million contract to back up Jayden Daniels. Mariota re-signing in Washington puts to bed his nomadic journey where he played with five teams in six seasons after spending his first five seasons with the Tennessee Titans. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner was picked second overall by Tennessee in the 2015 NFL Draft.

But Mariota, who has started 74 games in the NFL but just 19 in the past six seasons, decided to stay put in a situation where he will be backing up, and mentoring the... Mariota played with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, the Atlanta Falcons in 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 before finally signing with the Commanders before the 2024 season. The post Commanders’ Marcus Mariota taking Jayden Daniels’ place at podium. What does it mean? appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Washington Commanders may be without their starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels, in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders after suffering a knee injury in Week 2.

That means that Marcus Mariota will slot in as the starter if he’s sidelined. As of now, it looks like Mariota could possibly be the QB1 after the Commanders’ latest move, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. “Marcus Mariota will talk at the podium today. Not Jayden Daniels. If Daniels is not ruled out Friday, he’ll talk then. The Commanders took the same approach last year ahead of the Bears game when Daniels had a rib injury.

We know how that one ended,” Jhabvala wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Daniels ended up playing in that game against the Bears, which turned into a thriller when he got the Commanders a win after a Hail Mary touchdown at the end. There’s a chance that Daniels can still play in Week 3, and he still has a few days to show up to practice before the game. Head coach Dan Quinn noted that Daniels had a good rehab session and threw out on the field, but he won’t practice today, according to Jhabvala.

What Happened To Jayden Daniels Why Marcus Mariota Is Commanders

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