\u201cYou\u2019re just got to try to do what\u2019s best for the player,\u201d Commanders coach Dan Quinn said this week. \u201cWe know what we\u2019re looking to do and how we want to do it, but by no means are we careless about that. It\u2019s important not just for Jayden, but important for our entire team.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is best, in Quinn\u2019s view, is that Daniels continues to play, to benefit his long-term improvement. As Quinn said on Wednesday: \u201cWe would not put him out there if he\u2019s not able to fully express who he is as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Image:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/251103-jayden-daniels-mb-1320-749e10.jpg\")
Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders leaves the field after injuring his left arm.Greg Fiume \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Daniels is one of the NFL\u2019s most exciting young players, but not all Washington fans want to see him play again in these circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what Jayden can do. We saw it last year and we\u2019ve even seen it in games this year against the Chargers. He looked fantastic,\u201d said Mark Manjardi, a lifelong fan of the franchise who was so dedicated he flew to Spain to watch the team face Miami in November, in a game Daniels missed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think the the worst-case scenario far, far, far outweighs the best-case scenario, which is, \u2018Oh, he looks like his old self again,\u2019 and we still have no chance of doing anything this year anyway. \u2026 Even if Jayden wants to play, which he obviously does, think long term. Think next year. This is a lost season. It sucks but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Commanders aren\u2019t the only team who could, theoretically, place their franchise star in proverbial bubble wrap and tank the rest of the season with the aim of earning a better draft pick.<\/p>\n
The practice is common late in NBA seasons by teams already far from playoff consideration. Though NBA teams do not explicitly say so, team executives, agents and players have long shared their belief that shelving a promising player for the remainder of a season often has more to do with improving a team\u2019s odds of landing a high draft pick than it does with the severity of an injury.<\/p>\n
NFL teams this season, however, seem to be deferring to players. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury in Week 2 and missed the next nine weeks as his team cratered to a 3-8 record, with commentators making their case<\/a> for why neither the Bengals, nor Burrow, were best-served by continuing to play him. Yet Burrow said returning on Thanksgiving would be meaningful to him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a football player. He wants to play football,\u201d Bengals coach Zac Taylor said earlier this week<\/a>. \u201cWe want to win football games. That will lead into that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s safe to say the Bengals were glad they made the decision to start Burrow, who threw two touchdowns in Thursday\u2019s 32-14 win against Baltimore.<\/p>\n Angst around the risk of Daniels hurting himself again has grown because his elbow dislocation was his third injury this season, after he previously missed three games for a sprained knee and tweaked hamstring.<\/p>\n Matthew Berry, a fantasy football expert for NBC Sports, posted on X, <\/a>\u201cbegging my beloved Commanders. This is not our year. We should not risk further injury to our franchise QB in a lost year. He shouldn\u2019t have been playing at the end of a blow-out loss and he shouldn\u2019t play again this season. We are 3-8.\u201d<\/p>\n Daniels isn\u2019t wired that way, said Herm Edwards, the former NFL coach who also briefly coached Daniels in college at Arizona State.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to tie him down for him not to play,\u201d Edwards told a D.C. radio show recently.<\/a> \u201cYou want a guy like that. If he would sit there and say, \u2018Well, I\u2019m done. We\u2019re 3-8 now\u2019 \u2014 that ain\u2019t who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n But, Edwards was pressed by a radio host: Should Daniels play when the playoff upside is so remote?<\/p>\n \u201cThe season is now, and he got to play now. Are you kidding me?\u201d Edwards said. \u201cThat\u2019s what they do. Football players play football. They don\u2019t do anything else. That\u2019s their job. He\u2019s not going to say, \u2018Hey man, you know\u2019 \u2014 he don\u2019t care. He wants to play, he wants to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n