The Washington Commanders will enter Sunday’s home opener against the Seattle Seahawks without quarterback Jayden Daniels, who suffered a dislocated left elbow in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Daniels, who had previously dislocated the same elbow last November, is officially ruled out and expected to miss multiple weeks.
Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed on Wednesday that Daniels had met with yet another specialist after seeing several already this week. “I know there’s still probably a lot of questions about Jayden, and he’s seeing another specialist today, so I’ll hold off answering any questions about his timeline to return until we get all the info,” Quinn said. “But, like I said on Monday, he’ll be out Sunday.”
Daniels was one of two players already ruled out for the Seahawks game, alongside safety Nick Cross. Cross sustained an internal injury during the Dallas matchup and spent the night there before flying back to Washington the following day.
The injury troubles extend beyond these two starters. Left tackle Brandon Coleman, right guard Sam Cosmi, and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw all left the Cowboys game early. Washington’s first injury report of the week listed Coleman as a full participant in practice, but Cosmi and Kinlaw did not practice on Wednesday.
Cosmi remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol after taking a hard hit from Cowboys running back Kaytron Allen late in the game. Quinn said the team expected to get clearer answers on Cosmi’s availability around Friday. “Yeah, Friday, I would think is the time when you go through those processes; you wanna make sure, ‘Am I getting the look still to go?’ Generally, that’s the space,” Quinn said. “There’d have to be maybe some special circumstances, but not with that injury.”
Kinlaw is rehabbing a shoulder injury suffered last week and did not practice Wednesday. Quinn explained that Kinlaw would continue working off to the side and “we’ll see that ramp up more” as the week progresses.
Two other starters who missed last week’s practice remained sidelined on Wednesday. Linebacker Frankie Luvu is dealing with a groin issue, and tight end Chig Okonkwo has a hamstring injury. Neither participated in practice, adding to the list of question marks for the Commanders heading into a tough matchup against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
Washington’s injury woes come at a difficult time as they prepare for the home opener. The Seahawks visit FedExField on Sunday, and the Commanders will have to adjust their lineup without Daniels, Cross, and potentially Cosmi if he fails to clear concussion protocol in the coming days.
The team is expected to provide further updates as the week continues. For now, the absence of multiple starters remains confirmed heading into the weekend clash.
According to Yahoo Sports.