With Marcus Mariota a question mark and Jeff Driskel signed to the 53-man roster, the Washington Commanders are trying to answer their latest question at quarterback to close the 2025 season
One day until the home finale, who starts at quarterback for the Washington Commanders remains uncertain.
While there’s no question mark around Jayden Daniels’ status after head coach Dan Quinn confirmed the former Rookie of the Year would not pivot from the plan to remain shut down for the final three games, there is a question as to who will be available - and ready - for Thursday’s rematch against the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who exited early in the second half vs. Philadelphia last week, was listed as a ‘do not practice’ on both Monday and Tuesday, putting his status for Thursday in doubt. While Josh Johnson stepped in for Mariota, a lackluster showing left much to be desired with Quinn leaving all doors open to address the unit over the final two games.
“Would we consider somebody else coming in if he’s not able to, yeah, all those are on the table,” he said postgame.
That led Jeff Driskel back to DC, one season after rounding out the Commanders’ quarterback room and now with a chance for his first pass attempt since 2023. Whether he can get up to speed in time is the biggest question mark.
“That makes it tough. It's a challenging week when you play on a short week regardless, and then not knowing exactly who's going to be out there, we really just focus on us and concepts that we're comfortable with and have done,” offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said Tuesday. “And I think that's the biggest deal, is making sure that whoever is playing has a game plan they feel very confident in, have booked reps on it at some point in the season or in training camp, and go out there and execute at a high level on a short week.”
Having familiarity with the Commanders’ system under Kingsbury helps ease the learning curve on the short week, though, given Driskel was signed off Arizona’s practice squad after playing in Washington in 2024.
“Yeah, luckily with him, having been here last year, it's a little bit of a saving grace for us. He has a good knowledge of our base stuff and how to operate in. And so really, just giving him hey, here's the concepts I'm thinking if you need to play, and you show me the ones you're really comfortable with, and we'll take out the ones you're not. And so we kind of - it's been a lot easier that way than having somebody who's foreign to the system.”
While Johnson’s in-game reps with the Commanders have also been limited in 2025 with Saturday marking his first pass attempts in three appearances, the experience of the quarterback who played on seven teams helps become “really unflappable,” as Kingsbury called it.
“I think just his football mind, having played in so many different systems and booked so many different reps in different games in different spaces. And having to come in and play in championship games without getting reps. I think all those things have allowed him to play with a really calm mind. He's a very accurate player, and the ball tends to go to the right spot when he's in there.”
But maybe the biggest question in the latest quarterback debacle: what about Sam Hartman? After signing with the organization as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft, Hartman has yet to take a snap in an NFL game and has remained on the practice squad for two years while remaining on scout team through the bulk of the 2025 season. Still, Kingsbury pointed to the short week as reason why Hartman isn’t in line for his first NFL start.
“Sam's done a great job. I think just having a guy on a short week, particularly that's played in NFL games before, was comfortable [with] our system was really why we felt good about bringing him in. The way we've had the quarterback injuries, we want another body, a guy who's played, and that was really it,” Kingsbury added. “I don't think it'd be fair to ask Sam to start on a short week having not getting many reps where you’re not going to get live reps going into a game. And I think that is what it came down to.”
"It's about the team. I think we, as a unit, want to go out there and play well in the division. That's all it's about,” Hartman said on Tuesday. “So, for me, if I can contribute in any way, that's great, but it's about the Washington Commanders going out there and executing at a high level."