Two days before Thanksgiving, Jayden Daniels was in Legends Plaza just outside Northwest Stadium, smiling and posing for pictures as he distributed food to Prince George’s County residents. As smatterings of people passed through the gates, the Washington Commanders quarterback hoisted bags filled with carrots, onions and stuffing mix into their carts.
Unsurprisingly, he let his right arm do all the lifting.
Daniels is expected to miss a third consecutive game this week as he continues to recover from a dislocated left elbow. But in his first public comments since the injury, the second-year quarterback said Tuesday morning he has resumed throwing and is eager to return once he is medically cleared.
“If I’m back out there, I’m healthy and I’m ready to go, I want to be out there,” he said.
Coach Dan Quinn said Monday that Daniels will return to practice this week but has not yet been cleared to absorb contact, making it unlikely he will play Sunday night against the Denver Broncos. He could return Dec. 7 against Minnesota or Dec. 14 against the New York Giants.
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Daniels, for his part, did not disclose his personal expectations surrounding a potential return date. He said he has not seen footage of the play in which he dislocated his left elbow a little more than three weeks ago, late in a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 2. He is, at this point, taking the rehabilitation process “day by day and week by week,” he said.
“If I’m out there, man, I’m going to give it my all,” Daniels said. “ … You want to go out there and play, as a competitor. And that’s who I am.”
The dislocated elbow is the latest in a string of injuries that have disrupted Daniels’s second season in Washington. He has started just six of the team’s 11 games this season after missing time with a left knee sprain and a low-grade right hamstring strain.
“It’s learning,” he said when asked about the season so far. “It’s my second year in the NFL. You learn a lot of different things. Hopefully I’ll play a longer time, so it won’t be my first [time] going through adversity.”
Daniels fielded questions from local reporters about his elbow but seemed far more interested in speaking about the “Harvest Feast” event that brought him to Landover.
Daniels’s foundation partnered with the Commanders and a handful of corporate sponsors to distribute more than 100,000 pounds of food to more than 2,500 families in Prince George’s County ahead of Thanksgiving. He said he feels blessed, at just 24, to be in a position to help others, adding: “You never know who you can reach and whose day you can make.”
“Just an opportunity to give back to obviously a new region — not where I’m from, but obviously they’ve embraced me as who I am,” Daniels said. “To be able to partner and give back to them, make sure the people that come support us and are lifetime Commanders — [I want them to] feel the outreach from us.”
Team president Mark Clouse, minority owner Mark Ein and Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green were also in attendance, along with a handful of Daniels’s teammates. Defensive lineman Sheldon Day and wide receiver Jaylin Lane passed out the turkeys, while tight end Colson Yankoff and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey distributed drinks.
McCaffrey, who is on injured reserve with a broken collarbone, said his rehab process has been going smoothly but he is uncertain whether he will be able to play again this season.
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