PHILADELPHIA — Jayden Daniels walked through the bowels of Lincoln Financial Field and towards the Washington Commanders’ bus Sunday night with every limb fully intact and operable, if not downright pristine. For a quarterback who spent most of 2025 either unable to get on the field or unable to stay there, that represented progress.
“It’s been a long time [Dec. 7, 2025, to be exact] since I played football,” Daniels said after the Commanders’ season-opening 24-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “A long time since I started and finished a game.”
In a perfect world, the Commanders wouldn’t have to choose between keeping their franchise quarterback healthy and winning games. In a perfect world — such as the one they inhabited in 2024, when Daniels was a spectacular rookie and the Commanders were a 12-5 juggernaut — they can accomplish both objectives.