Jayden Daniels practices in surprising Commanders twist with Week 8 status uncertain
So you’re saying there’s a chance?
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels practiced Friday, head coach Dan Quinn revealed to reporters.
This news came as a relative surprise as Daniels not practiced in previous days this week due to a rib injury and was not present during the portion of practice available to the media Friday.
Therefore, the presumption was that it would be highly unlikely Daniels would be able to play against the Bears this Sunday.
Quinn told reporters they’ll assess in the next 48 hours how Daniels responds to the rigors of Friday’s practice.
“We really pushed it today,” Quinn said.
Daniels left last week’s 40-7 win over the Panthers early with a rib injury and did not return.
His backup is Marcus Mariota, who completed 18-of-23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns in his place in the blowout win.
This Bears-Commanders game is one that big NFL fans have had circled on the calendar for a while as Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and Daniels went second.
It has also somewhat unexpectedly become a game with NFC playoff implications.
The Commanders lead the NFC East with a 5-2 record, a half-game ahead of the Eagles, and at 4-2 the Bears are squarely in contention for the NFC North (where the Lions lead at 5-1) or a Wild Card berth.
Earlier this month, legendary former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann gushed to The Post’s Steve Serby about Daniels.
“You could list 10 things that you want out of a quarterback, he checks every box right now,” Theismann said of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
