Marcus Mariota will now start at quarterback for the Washington Commanders' 2026 home opener against the Seattle Seahawks
The bad news has been made official for the Washington Commanders.
After suffering a dislocated left elbow in the week two loss against the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Dan Quinn also noted that Daniels underwent imaging on Monday and will consult with specialists on Tuesday and Wednesday about next steps. Marcus Mariota is now on track to start in the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks this upcoming weekend with Washington still gathering additional info about Daniels' injury.
Though head coach Dan Quinn declined to share a timeline until further testing is done, ESPN's Adam Schefter noted earlier in the day that a timeframe for Daniels to return could materialize similar to last season, when he missed four games and returned for the week 13 road loss against the Minnesota Vikings, when he re-aggravated his left elbow injury to end his sophomore season.
Daniels exited Sunday's loss against the Dallas Cowboys on the final play of the first half as head coach Dan Quinn elected to keep the offense on the field over a chip shot field goal to end the first half. Taking the snap under center, Daniels tripped on the right foot of starting left guard Chris Paul before using his left arm to brace his fall, leading to his dislocated elbow. Head coach Dan Quinn noted postgame that Daniels did not suffer a fracture, though the injury happened to the same elbow that Daniels injured twice during the 2025 season.
It marks a deflating blow for a Washington offense that has, at times, been stagnant through the first two games under coordinator David Blough, though the third year quarterback showed signs of returning to form after an offseason that featured plenty of discussion around how comfortable the franchise quarterback looked in the new offense.
Daniels left the game on Sunday accounting for 165 yards of total offense, including 69 yards on the ground on seven carries, while completing 11 of his 17 attempts. Mariota came in relief to open the second half and completed 11 of his 16 attempts while throwing for 111 yards and one touchdown.
Washington's quarterback was also one of several key players to exit Sunday's loss due to injury after defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (shoulder), right guard Sam Cosmi (concussion) and left tackle Brandon Coleman (finger) all went down through the game. Both tight end Chig Okonkwo and linebacker Frankie Luvu were already ruled out ahead of the week two matchup, dealing an early dose of the injury bug to a team that battled multiple injuries throughout the 2025 season.
Head coach Dan Quinn also revealed that starting safety Nick Cross was diagnosed with an internal injury, stayed overnight in Dallas and was discharged today before flying back to DC. Quinn also noted that Javon Kinlaw will be limited in the week while Cosmi will begin the process of concussion protocol. There was some good news as Quinn noted that left tackle Brandon Coleman is "trending in the right direction" with his finger injury.
