Washington Commanders face season-defining crisis as Jayden Daniels suffers another serious elbow injury

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was carted off the field at halftime during Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys after he appeared to injure his left elbow on the final play of the first half.

During the play, he seemed to hyperextend the left elbow. And, yes, it was ugly.

It happened on the final play of the first half when Daniels pulled away from center but tripped. As he tried to regain his balance, he used his left arm to hold himself up.

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The elbow gave way in a manner it is not supposed to bend.

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And all this is terrible news because Daniels had a similar injury in 2025 against the Seattle Seahawks.

So this very easily could be a season-defining injury for Daniels. And the Commanders.

Again.

OutKick medical expert Dr. David Chao, who served 17 seasons as the head physician for the then-San Diego Chargers and currently runs the Sports Injury Central website, studied the injury via tape. He put out a post on X with his view.

"By video, clear left elbow dislocation...

"Similar to last season

"Joint comes out easier second time original ligament tear heals "looser."

Although the injury was to his arm, Daniels was carted off to the locker room. He wore a towel over his head, apparently, to avoid showing his facial reaction to the crowd.

Daniels has been replaced, at least for the remainder of this game, by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota.

And if this injury is what everyone's eyes are seeing, the Washington Commanders' season is on the brink in only the second week of the season.

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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels lies on the field with an apparent left arm injury during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

If Daniels faces a similar situation to last season, he faces a similar rehabilitation.

Daniels dislocated his left elbow while scrambling in Washington’s Week 9 loss to Seattle on Nov. 2, 2025. An MRI found no fracture or ligament damage, so he avoided surgery and was not placed on injured reserve.

He returned in Week 14 against Minnesota but aggravated the elbow, was not cleared for the following game and was shut down for the final three weeks of the season as the Commanders prioritized his recovery for 2026.

That recovery appears to be derailed at least for the short term.