The Commanders have a difficult decision to make after hearing Jayden Daniels’ injury update for Week 8
Should the Commanders take the risk on Jayden Daniels?
The Washington Commanders’ season is starting to lose hope, and they need a win in the worst way possible heading into Week 8.
The season has been riddled with injuries, including Terry McLaurin, who missed several games, Dorance Armstrong, who is now out for the season, and franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels, who suffered his second injury of the season.
As bad as the Commanders need a win, they also need to keep Daniels healthy. His hamstring update gives the team an important decision to make, but it should be an easy one.
Should Jayden Daniels play Week 8 vs the Chiefs?
The easy answer to the question is no, absolutely not. There’s no reason for Daniels to push through a hamstring injury against the Kansas City Chiefs on the road. Head coach Dan Quinn said the injury doesn’t seem serious or long-term, and we won’t know Daniels’ status until later in the week.
The Commanders were cautious with his knee injury he suffered in Week 2, and it should be no different this week. The team doesn’t have practice until Thursday since they play Monday night, but even with the extra day of recovery, it’s not worth pushing through an injury that can linger for a long time if not fully healed.
Winning or losing to the Chiefs does absolutely nothing for the season, and he’s most needed against the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions games, which are must-wins, or the season is over.
Commanders’ season goals are changing
I hate to say it, but losses to the Seahawks and Lions end the season that had much higher expectations, given how loaded the NFC is.
The Commanders are tied with the New Orleans Saints for the most NFC losses this season at four, and they have a steep hill to climb with the remaining schedule. If they lose to the Seahawks and Lions, they have to sweep the rest of the season, which is unlikely with their injuries and defense. The main goal for the rest of the season is to keep Daniels healthy.
There’s no reason to set Daniels back even further this week, regardless of whether he wants to play in a primetime game against Patrick Mahomes. Marcus Mariota has shown to be a quality backup, and the team is still dealing with way too many injuries to other players, so Daniels would have to carry the team once again.
I would be shocked if Daniels played Monday night, and the team might even consider resting him another week after that, depending on how his hamstring responds. We will get our first injury update on Thursday.
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