RICKMANSWORTH, England — Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is inching toward returning to play less than two weeks after dislocating his left elbow for the second time in 10 months.
Daniels participated in the team’s non-padded practice on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after landing in London ahead of the team’s Week 4 matchup against the Colts, leaving open the possibility that he could return to the field as early as Sunday.
Head coach Dan Quinn said Daniels will take reps in individual and team drills Thursday and Friday in a limited capacity. Once they can determine both the functionality and strength of Daniels’ left arm after practice Friday, they will decide whether the third-year quarterback is ready to get back on the field. But there won’t be a rush.
“We’re not going to put him out there before he’s ready,” Quinn said.
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Daniels was seen in practice wearing a large black brace on his left arm, going through footwork drills and throwing exercises. Quinn said Daniels will wear the brace for the rest of the season.
Daniels dislocated the elbow on the final play of the first half against the Cowboys in Week 2. It was the same elbow he dislocated last November.
Backup Marcus Mariota replaced Daniels in the Cowboys game and started against the Seahawks in Week 3, throwing three touchdowns in the 33-31 win over the defending champions.
After the injury last season, Daniels missed three games in four weeks. Sunday will be 14 days since the Cowboys game.
But there’s still time for Washington to decide whether he’ll play.
“So the pain tolerance for him, he already has the high one in that space,” Quinn said. “So it’s more with this specific injury, the functionality, the strength, and once we get to that space, then we can go.”