Jayden Daniels Camp Update — August 23: Three snaps, one sack, plan intact
2026 NFL Season · Sunday, Aug 23
Daniels's second preseason outing was three snaps by design — a three-and-out with a ten-yard sack — and Dan Quinn called him a quarterback "throwing an excellent camp." The bigger change is behind him: Marcus Mariota is out for the preseason and Washington is not adding a veteran.
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Jayden Daniels started in Detroit on Saturday and played exactly three snaps — a three-and-out that gained one yard, zero for one passing, and a 10-yard sack by DJ Wonnum — before giving way for the night, per Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk. Dan Quinn said afterward the single series was the predetermined plan, and attached the evaluation that matters more than the box score: Daniels is "throwing an excellent camp," per the postgame transcript published by Commanders On SI. The practice week backed the coach up. On Wednesday, team senior writer Zach Selby charted Daniels sharp in 11-on-11 work, connecting repeatedly with tight end Chig Okonkwo, including a touchdown, with the rapport work continuing with Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs.
The week's real news for this file was structural. Quinn announced Sunday that Marcus Mariota's sprained MCL will keep the backup out for the rest of the preseason — "We're optimistic that he'll be ready for the start of the regular season," in remarks carried by USA Today's Commanders Wire — and ruled out reinforcements: "We don't anticipate anybody else coming in. It'll allow more reps over the next couple of weeks with Sam and Athan in that spot." Rookie Athan Kaliakmanis then went 11 of 14 for a hundred 62 yards Saturday, so the reps are being used. None of this changes Daniels; it changes the cost of anything happening to him, and Saturday's one live pressure got home.
Back in June our preview argued the down year was a dislocated elbow rather than a changed player, and camp keeps returning a healthy, comfortable quarterback — the elbow has produced nothing to report, which is the goal, while the designed-run element of David Blough's install remains unseen in games because the games have not been for him.
Watch next: Wednesday's joint practice with Baltimore, which Selby's takeaways frame as the starters' real work of the week, and whether Daniels plays at all in Friday's finale before rosters cut to 53 on Sunday. We'll check after cut day.
_Data via nflverse._
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