Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (rib) returns to practice, will be game-time decision vs. Bears Oct 25, 2024

The Washington Commanders appear ready to give Jayden Daniels until game time to see if he can play Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Coach Dan Quinn said that the rookie QB was able to get in some practice reps on Friday after not participating in the two prior sessions due to a rib injury suffered in Week 7.

“Jayden was able to practice today,” Quinn said. “We followed the plan really that we set at the start of the week. … Think crawl, walk, run. … We will assess how he responds to the work that we did over the next 48 hours, but we really pushed it today.

“We’ll make the best decision for him and the team.”

Daniels was listed as limited in his return to practice and officially questionable to play against Chicago.

“I think the response to say you’re feeling good, like you’re not in pain to do that,” Quinn said when asked if there was anything he needed to see from Daniels after Friday’s workout. “How does your body respond from really getting pushed to go? I would say that’s what we need to see. The testing is ongoing to get to that spot, but it was a good day.”

The Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner suffered the rib injury on the opening drive of last week’s win over the Carolina Panthers. Marcus Mariota took over and helped lead the blowout victory.

If Daniels can’t go, Mariota would get the start.

Sunday’s Bears-Commanders matchup was moved to the late afternoon window with the No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, versus Daniels, the No. 2 selection, as the main attractions. We’ll see if the matchup holds, or we’ll have to wait for the draftmates to clash another time.