Jayden Daniels Ruled Out Week 4, Marcus Mariota Will Start Again

Per Nicki Jhabvala, Commanders HC Dan Quinn said QB Jayden Daniels will be out in Week 4, setting up QB Marcus Mariota to start again.

Daniels dislocated his elbow in Week 2 and didn’t start the team’s Week 3 win over Seattle. He practiced in limited fashion on both Wednesday and Thursday but will ultimately miss at least another game before returning to game action.

Daniels, 25, started his collegiate career at Arizona State before transferring to LSU for his final two seasons. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2023 and was drafted by the Commanders with the No. 2 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Daniels signed a four-year, $37,746,650 contract that includes a $24,272,108 signing bonus and will carry a $8,578,784 cap figure for the 2025 season. The contract includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028.

In 2026, Daniels has appeared in two games and completed 56.9 percent of his passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns. He has also rushed 12 times for 100 yards.

Mariota, 32, is a former No. 2 overall pick of the Titans back in 2015. He signed a four-year, $24.214 million rookie contract that was fully guaranteed.

The Titans picked up Mariota’s fifth-year option worth $20.922 million for the 2019 season. They declined to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent after he lost the starting job, though, and he ultimately agreed to a two-year contract with the Raiders worth $17.6 million. 

After playing out his deal in Las Vegas, Mariota signed a two-year deal with the Falcons in 2022. Atlanta opted to release him and he signed a one-year deal with the Eagles worth $5 million.

From there, Mariota joined the Commanders ahead of the 2024 season. He’s returned on one-year deals in 2025 and 2026.  

In 2026, Mariota has appeared in two games for the Commanders and completed 73.8 percent of passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns.

We’ll have more regarding Daniels as the news is available.