Commanders' Jayden Daniels (elbow) ruled out for London game; QB Marcus Mariota to start vs. Colts

Jayden Daniels will be a bystander in London on Sunday.

Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn ruled out Daniels on Friday for Week 4’s tilt against the Indianapolis Colts.

Marcus Mariota will make his second start of the season under center for Washington.

“We'll assess where we are next week when he gets a full week of practice all the way through,” Quinn said of Daniels. “But typical for him, working incredibly hard to get back, doing everything that he can behind the scenes to go do that as fast as he can. He is a true competitor on and off the field."

Daniels dislocated his non-throwing elbow in a Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The third-year pro flew across the pond with the club and was a limited participant in practices this week, sporting a rather large brace on his left arm. Daniels dismissed any worry about reinjuring the elbow, which caused him to miss significant action in 2025. However, the Commanders aren’t yet ready to throw their starter back into the fire just yet.

"Certainly, anytime you can practice, that's a big deal,” Quinn said when asked how close Daniels was to returning. “So, for him to get back, that was a big step for us to see what it looked like and where it would go.

"Typical for him, like, he's more ready than you expect. So that's just kind of how he is, but we'll get the whole week for him and get back at it, get his elbow, his body, everything back right. But it was really impressive to see it."

Mariota performed well standing in for Daniels last week, tossing three touchdowns with zero interceptions for a 110.0 passer rating against the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in a Week 3 win. It marked Mariota’s first three-TD tilt since Week 8, 2022 with the Falcons. In two games (one start, one relief), Mariota is one of four QBs with four-plus pass TDs and zero INTs in 2026 (Jared Goff, Geno Smith, Drew Lock).

Mariota and the Commanders will face a Colts defense that got on track in last week’s 19-17 win over the Houston Texans, but still ranks 32nd in yards allowed (417.3) and yards per play (6.5) and 30th in pass yards per game (276.0).