Marcus Mariota will start at quarterback for the Washington Commanders in Week 3 after Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow on the final play of the first half in Sunday's loss in Dallas. Dan Quinn confirmed the switch Monday, and Daniels is expected to be sidelined for at least one week while he waits on more medical answers.
Daniels was carted to the locker room after being attended to on the field at AT&T Stadium, then ruled out after halftime in Washington's 37-20 defeat. He underwent imaging on Monday and will consult with specialists in the coming days, but Quinn said he does not yet have a return timeline.
The move matters because Washington does not have much margin to wait. The Commanders are 0-2, Mariota is now the immediate answer, and the next game comes next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, who are 2-0, at 1 p.m. ET in Washington's home opener. After that, the Commanders travel to London in Week 4 to play the Indianapolis Colts, which means the team has to plan for more than one week without Daniels if the specialists are cautious.
That caution has a clear reason. This is Daniels' second elbow injury in two years, and it involves the same left elbow he dislocated last season in a Week 9 game against Seattle. He missed the following three weeks then, and he aggravated the injury when he returned. Quinn said Monday that the team will defer to the specialists on how to handle the elbow this time, and that is where the story sits now: a starter change for Week 3, an uncertain timeline beyond that, and no decision yet on whether Washington will add another quarterback behind Mariota and Athan Kaliakmanis.
Mariota, who came in relief and went 11-of-16 for 111 yards and a touchdown, now has to hold the position while Washington tries to stop the season from slipping away. Daniels can get back only when the elbow is stable enough for the specialists to clear him, and the next stretch of the schedule may not leave much room for patience.
