Commanders' Jayden Daniels Week-to-Week with Rib Injury Ahead of Bears Game

After an injury ended his day prematurely against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, it's unclear if quarterback Jayden Daniels will play in this week's matchup with the Chicago Bears.

Per Ian Rapoport, head coach Dan Quinn said Daniels is considered "week-to-week" with a rib injury. Rapoport reported that the injury "is not considered to be serious but does require treatment and monitoring throughout the week."

"The status for Jayden, we put down as week-to-week as you guys know," Quinn said. "It's a rib injury and we'll take him through all the steps in practice and assess how he's doing and keep working through that. We're hopeful he can play, but we'll also make sure to take every precautionary step and do it smartly for the player and the man."

Daniels played just a handful of snaps before suffering the injury on a seven-yard run in the first quarter. He went to the locker room but was back on the sideline in street clothes by the third quarter.

In Week 2, Daniels exited the Commanders' matchup with the New York Giants after taking a shot to the ribs but returned to the field just moments later.

Luckily for the Commanders, they had no trouble without their starting quarterback on Sunday. Backup Marcus Mariota stepped in and threw for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Washington to a dominant 40-7 win over the struggling Panthers.

Should Daniels have to miss this week's matchup, Mariota's performance against Carolina is a good sign that he is capable of leading the Commanders to a win against Chicago.

Daniels has had a tremendous start to his rookie year, throwing for 1,410 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions through seven games while picking up 372 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

The outstanding play from the No. 2 overall pick has led Washington to a 5-2 start and it appears to be on its way to reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

The Commanders will face the Bears and arguably Daniels' biggest competition for Offensive Rookie of the Year on Sunday in Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall pick has 1,317 passing yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions as Chicago has gone 4-2 to start the year.

While having Daniels back for that contest would be ideal, the top priority will be getting him back to 100 percent for the back stretch of the season.