How the Washington Commanders handle Jayden Daniels’ latest injury, which he suffered in the blowout loss to Dallas on Sunday, will determine if they have learned from their mistake. We could all argue that Robert Griffin III’s trajectory in the NFL was drastically changed the moment he went out to play in the NFL playoffs, less than a month after suffering a knee sprain. In that playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, he tore his ACL in the same knee and was never the same.
Daniels could be in the same boat if he doesn’t fully recover after suffering a hamstring injury against the Dallas Cowboys. Remember, he suffered a knee sprain Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers. That only sidelined him for two games before he was back under center. This is the type of pattern the Commanders don’t want to repeat and surely Daniels wants to play.
But they have to be mindful of the future of this team, not just the now. That same reckless spirit Washington had back then with RGIII cost them a franchise quarterback and sent them on a downward spiral Daniels has finally saved them from. That can come crashing down if they are irresponsible and rush him back.
Is the Jayden Daniels situation comparable to the RGIII situation?
You could argue that the two are one in the same, but we won’t really know how comparable they are until we see how they handle the situation. Everybody is different and everybody recovers differently so Daniels’ sprain might not be as bad of a sprain as RGIII had. I think the biggest similarities is you have a team that has to decide how to handle their franchise quarterback.
That’s why they have to learn from the RGIII mistake. Even if Daniels says he’s ready to play, they should be extremely cautious in throwing him out there and getting more injured. He rushed back last year with his rib injury and it ultimately worked out. But he’s too mobile of a quarterback to be playing with a knee injury that could get worse.
Should Jayden Daniels rush to help the Washington Commanders return to the NFL playoffs?
This is the same predicament the Commanders were in with RGIII. They wanted to go on a playoff run and RGIII appealed that he was healthy enough to play and then his injury got worse. Should the Commanders let Daniels dictate if he’s truly healthy enough to play or should they determine when he’s ready?
The Commanders, just a season removed from reaching the NFC championship game, got a taste of playoff success and are eager to get back there. That said, it’s not worth ruining what could be the Commanders’ best chance to have years of success instead of just a couple of seasons. Just like playing RGIII when he wasn’t ready, cost them a future franchise quarterback, doing the same with Daniels could ultimately put them in a bind too.
Marcus Mariota is the best quarterback option, but they brought him back this season for a reason. The Commanders saw earlier this year he can still win them some games and it might be worth turning to him to preserve Daniels in the long run. Simplify the offense for Mariota and make sure he’s in the best position to succeed.
Playing him is the better option over playing an injured Daniels with the risk of him facing a serious injury. Sure he could get severely hurt in just about any scenario on the field, but why risk it when he’s already hurt. There’s no guarantee the Commanders get to the playoffs this year with him so play it safe and don’t rush him back. It could be the difference in short term success for long term success.