Jayden Daniels Is Out for the Seahawks Rematch

Jayden Daniels dislocated his left elbow in Washington’s 37-20 loss at Dallas, and he will miss the Sept. 27 rematch with Seattle. The Seahawks were the team that first wrecked that same joint last November.

X-rays showed no fracture after the cart ride at AT&T Stadium. Coach Dan Quinn said more imaging was set for Monday, Sept. 21, and that the Commanders will rally around Marcus Mariota until Daniels is back. Washington is 0-2. Seattle is 2-0 and visits Landover next.

The Same Left Elbow Failed Him Again

The play never needed a hit. With three seconds left in the first half, Washington had third-and-goal from the Dallas 1-yard line and trailed 17-10. Quinn sent the offense back out instead of kicking, which would have made it 17-13. Guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels’ foot as the quarterback took the snap. Daniels stumbled, put his left hand down, and the elbow folded the wrong way.

He flicked the ball incomplete, grabbed the arm, and went down. Trainers put him in an air cast. He left on a cart with a towel over his head. Broadcast analyst Tom Brady, watching the replay, swore on air. Teammates knelt around him. Mariota was the first player over.

Daniels had been the best thing in a bad afternoon. He started 7-for-7, finished 11 of 17 for 96 yards and a touchdown to Stefon Diggs, and ran seven times for 69 yards after Washington had trailed 17-3. Then the non-throwing arm went, and the half ended 17-10. Dallas closed it out 37-20.

TWO TRIPS TO THE CART

Mariota finished 11 of 16 for 111 yards and a touchdown, no interceptions, and a 109.1 rating. Quinn said after the game that Mariota will keep the job until Daniels returns.

Seattle Was Already in This Story

On Nov. 2, 2025, in a 38-14 home loss, Daniels was still on the field with Washington down 31 and 7:39 to play. He scrambled from the Seattle 2-yard line. Linebacker Drake Thomas spun him down for a two-yard loss. Daniels put the left arm out to break the fall, and the elbow went. That was Daniels’ first elbow dislocation, and it ended his night.

Quinn owned that one the next day. He said he had missed it by leaving his quarterback in a blowout, and that it was 100 percent on him. Daniels missed the following three weeks, came back Dec. 7 at Minnesota, landed on the same elbow after an interception, and was shut down. He started seven games last season and missed 10.

Less than a year later, the joint failed on a stumble at the 1-yard line, and the first game on the other side of it is Seattle again. Washington does not get a revenge drive. Seattle gets a backup.

No Second Thoughts on Going for the Touchdown

Quinn was asked whether he wished he had kicked. He did not take the opening. Quinn’s postgame injury update put the dislocation first, then the call.

Looking back on it, at the one-yard line, we need touchdowns. I don’t regret the call. Anytime someone’s injured, you play the what-if game. I don’t think this is one of those times for me. I hate that it happened. I wasn’t hesitant about going into that spot. I thought we were going to be aggressive in this game, against their offense. Obviously the outcome sucks, but it wasn’t a what-if, or wish I had done something differently.

Dan Quinn, Commanders head coach, postgame in Arlington

Last November he said he had left Daniels in too long against Seattle. On Sunday he said this was not a what-if. The difference is the play itself: a teammate stepped on a foot. The coaching fight around it is the same one he already lost once, because the joint is the same and the next opponent is the same.

He also said he was disheartened for Daniels, that he knew what the quarterback had gone through, and that Daniels was in good spirits. He did not see him at halftime. Staff were working on the elbow. They spoke after the game.

OTHERS WHO LEFT THE DALLAS GAME

• Sam Cosmi: The right guard went into the concussion protocol and did not return.
• Javon Kinlaw: The defensive tackle injured a shoulder and stayed out.
• Brandon Coleman: The left tackle injured a finger and stayed out.

Those absences matter for a line that already stepped on its quarterback. They do not change the larger hole. Washington is without the player who ran for 69 yards before the break and who still makes this offense a problem when he is upright.

He Came Back Once and Lasted One Game

The 2025 file is why this one lands so hard. Daniels was the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year and took Washington to the NFC title game. Year two was a string of stops.

THE 2025 AVAILABILITY FILE

1. Week 2, 2025: Sprains his left knee against Green Bay, finishes the game, then misses Weeks 3 and 4.
2. Week 7, 2025: Strains his right hamstring against Dallas, leaves, and misses Week 8.
3. Nov. 2, 2025: Dislocates the left elbow against Seattle and misses the next three weeks.
4. Dec. 7, 2025: Returns at Minnesota, lands on the elbow after an interception in a 31-0 loss, and does not play again.

Ian Rapoport, who covers the league, said Sunday that Daniels is expected to miss time and that the last time he had this injury he missed about a month. That month ended in one start and a shutdown. The caution this time writes itself.

#Commanders coach Dan Quinn said QB Jayden Daniels suffered another dislocated left elbow, and he is expected to miss time. X-Rays were negative.

The last time he had this injury, he missed about a month. pic.twitter.com/0lLwvQXAzz

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 21, 2026

Quinn said he has not had reason to think Daniels will miss the rest of this season. The tests on Sept. 21 are what turn that into a calendar.

Mariota Draws a Defense That Allowed 151 Yards

Seattle comes in 2-0 without playing Sam Darnold for most of the first two weeks. Darnold hurt a glute in the Sept. 9 opener against New England, where he still went 16 of 22 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Drew Lock started Sept. 20 in Arizona and went 19 of 26 for 235 yards and three scores, all to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, in a 31-7 win. Across two weeks Lock is 35 of 48 for 422 yards and four touchdowns.

The number Washington has to live with is on the other side of the ball. Seattle held Arizona to 151 yards. The Cardinals managed 70 on the ground and 81 through the air. Seattle piled up 381 yards and sat on the ball for more than 36 minutes.

WHAT MARIOTA WALKS INTO

• Seattle record: 2-0, with a 31-7 road win in Week 2.
• Yards allowed Sept. 20: 151 total, 70 rush, 81 pass.
• Darnold: Glute injury; coach Mike Macdonald said the timetable has shifted quite drastically, with a chance to practice this week.
• Washington: 0-2, first home game, backup quarterback, short-handed line.

Rapoport has called a Week 3 return for Darnold possible but a stretch, with Week 4 the likelier target. Macdonald can afford to wait because Lock just won. Washington cannot wait. Mariota is the starter on Sept. 27 whether Seattle’s quarterback is Lock or Darnold.

How Long These Elbows Usually Keep a Player Out

Simple dislocations without a break often stay out of surgery. Last year’s version had no structural damage and no operation, which is why Washington skipped injured reserve and tried a return in December. That return lasted one game.

A review of NFL elbow dislocations from 2000 through 2011, covering 62 injuries, found that 75.8 percent of players got back the same season. In non-surgical cases missed 25.1 days on average, with a median of 23. Players who had surgery missed a mean of 46.5 days. Offensive players as a group sat 24.1 days.

Tom Christ, a physical therapist who tracks league injuries, said he expects several weeks of rehab, a return in a brace, and surgery in the offseason, with a higher chance of another pop because this is the second time. The non-throwing arm is the one mercy. Daniels does not have to rebuild a throwing motion to take a snap. He does have to trust a joint that has now given out twice when he put it on the ground.

Monday’s imaging is the fork. If ligaments are intact and the joint is stable, the 25.1-day mean is the hopeful map, and a brace is the on-field plan. If the lab wants an operation, the season starts to look like 2025 again, and Mariota’s job stops being a week-to-week patch.

Landover Hosts Seattle Without the Franchise Quarterback

Washington’s first home date of the year is the team that bent this elbow in the first place. Seattle’s defense just posted 151 yards allowed. Its own starter is racing a glute. None of that returns Daniels to the huddle on Sept. 27.

Quinn can say he needed a touchdown at the 1, and he can say Daniels was in good spirits. The Commanders still go into that rematch 0-2, with a backup, against a club that has already seen this quarterback leave on a cart once. The tests on Sept. 21 will set the clock. They will not put him under center this Sunday.