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The Washington Commanders have a major question mark ahead of their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears, as star rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is uncertain to play due to a rib injury.
Daniels suffered the injury in the first quarter during the Week 7 contest against the Carolina Panthers, forcing his early exit from the game. It was quickly evident he didn’t sustain a serious injury, but the rib issue left his status up in the air.
Daniels didn’t log any practice participation on Wednesday or Thursday before he was able to get back on the practice field on Friday for a limited practice, which led to him being given the questionable tag.
The No. 2 overall pick also took part in the team’s walkthrough practice on Saturday. Here’s the latest update on Daniels’ status for Week 8.
Jayden Daniels injury update
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “all signs” are pointing to Daniels playing on Sunday against the Bears. The Commanders will see how the quarterback is feeling during pregame warm-ups before making a final decision.
“He’s one tough-ass dude,” a team official told Schefter, before adding that Daniels would “want to play if he were missing his right leg.”
While Daniels’ toughness is obviously admirable, the Commanders should not run him out there at anything less than 100%. After all, he is far too important to the future of the franchise to risk further injury if he isn’t fully healthy. At 5-2, the Commanders can afford to give him a game to get right.
If Daniels doesn’t end up playing, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota will take the reins of the offense once again. Mariota played well in relief of Daniels last week, completing 18-of-23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 11 carries for 34 yards in a 40-7 win.
Jayden Daniels fantasy football advice
If he plays, Daniels draws a matchup against a tough Bears defense ceding the second-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. However, the rookie has been one of the best options in fantasy football at his position this season and remains a must-start player whenever he takes the field.
The Bears and Commanders will kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET, which means we won’t have an official word on Daniels’ status until around 2:55 p.m. ET when the inactives come out.
Make sure you have an emergency option like Mariota available just in case the rookie signal-caller is ultimately ruled inactive.