Pete Carroll Says Raiders Preparing for Jayden Daniels Despite Commanders QB's Injury

Jayden Daniels' status is in question for Week 3, but the Las Vegas Raiders are preparing to face the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback.

Head coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that the Raiders are expecting for Daniels to be ready to go.

"We have to prepare for him playing. The bet is probably that he will. They might not practice him until later in the week, but we're going to count on him going," Carroll told reporters.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported earlier this week that Daniels is dealing with a sprained knee, though Rapoport noted that it is "not a long-term injury."

ESPN's John Keim reported that Daniels "had a large ice pack on the knee" after the Commanders' loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday and "walked with a limp out of the building." An MRI on Monday "revealed no major damage," according to Keim.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that Daniels will not practice until Friday, but added that he had "a good rehab session" on Wednesday.

Daniels, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, struggled against the Packers, throwing for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 24-of-42 passing. The knee injury came in the fourth quarter.

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Earlier this week, Quinn said the Commanders would ensure Daniels is fully ready to go before giving him the starting designation.

"It starts off first on the strength, the movements," Quinn said. "Then on the field change direction, the pivoting, the moving, all of those would be the things to go. So, we'll just take it as it goes through the week, but he'd have to see all of the steps along this week to hit those marks. The speed, the stopping, the change of direction, all of it."

Should Daniels miss Sunday's contest, the Commanders would turn to backup Marcus Mariota under center. Mariota, an 11-year veteran, appeared in three games a year ago, throwing for 364 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

"We have a lot of background about Marcus on the staff so we know what his capabilities are, we think, so we're preparing for both guys, but primarily for Jayden," Carroll said.

The Commanders come into the matchup 1-1 after a win over the New York Giants and a loss to the Packers. The Raiders opened their season with a win over the New England Patriots before dropping their Week 2 contest to the Los Angeles Chargers.