Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels left Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys after an elbow injury, and a well-known sports doctor has revealed some scary news in that regard.
Physician Jesse Morse took to social media to reveal he thinks Daniels re-dislocated his elbow, the same injury that cost him a significant portion of the 2025 campaign.
The play unfolded just before halftime at AT&T Stadium. Facing third-and-goal inside the five-yard line and trailing 17-10 with no timeouts left, Washington kept its offense on the field. Daniels took the snap under center, his left guard stepped on his ankle, and the quarterback stumbled.
As he went down he planted his left arm to break the fall. The elbow hyperextended in a manner that immediately looked familiar to anyone who had watched him a year earlier.
Morse, who tracks NFL injuries closely, posted video and still images of the sequence and noted that the mechanism and the joint involved matched the dislocation Daniels suffered in Week 9 of 2025 against Seattle.
That original injury kept him out three games. He returned in Week 14 against Minnesota, aggravated the same elbow, and was shut down for the final four contests of the year. In total he started only seven games in 2025 after also dealing with a knee sprain and a hamstring strain.
Daniels was carted to the locker room at the half and officially ruled out. Backup Marcus Mariota finished the game. Because the left elbow is Daniels’ non-throwing arm, some observers hoped the functional impact might be limited. History, however, suggests otherwise.
Even a “simple” dislocation without fracture still requires the joint to regain stability, range of motion, and the ability to absorb contact while the quarterback runs, plants, and throws. Daniels’ 2025 return and subsequent re-injury illustrated how quickly that stability can be lost again.
The latest episode also renewed questions about play-calling and risk management. Several fans and analysts immediately argued that Washington should have taken the field goal and gone to the locker room down four rather than expose its franchise quarterback on a crowded goal-line snap.
Coach Dan Quinn had faced similar second-guessing after the 2025 Seattle game, when Daniels remained on the field late in a blowout and suffered the original dislocation. Quinn later accepted responsibility for that decision.
Whether the same conversation repeats itself this week will depend on imaging results that have not yet been made public.
For now the Commanders must prepare for an extended absence while they wait for official medical details. Daniels had shown flashes of the dual-threat ability that made him the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, rushing for 69 yards on seven carries before the injury.
Those same instincts, however, place him in positions where an awkward fall can undo months of rehabilitation.
Morse indicated a more detailed breakdown would follow on his InjuryExpertz platform. Until then the image of Daniels writhing on the turf after another left-elbow collapse remains the dominant picture of Washington’s afternoon in Dallas.
