After reaching the NFC Championship game last season, the 2025 campaign hasn’t started as Washington Commanders fans had hoped. After four weeks, the team is 2-2, and superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels has missed the last two games due to injury.
With a matchup against the 3-1 Los Angeles Chargers on the horizon, the Commanders will be looking for Daniels to return. Here’s everything you need to know about his status for Week 5.
What’s the Latest on Jayden Daniels’ Injury and Week 5 Availability?
Daniels suffered a knee sprain in the Commanders’ Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers and has missed the last two games.
Washington managed a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 without Daniels and hoped to have him back for their Week 4 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. However, the young quarterback was ruled out, and the Commanders fell to the Falcons.
On Monday, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that Daniels had a strong workout on Saturday and said the team will monitor how he feels during practice before making an official decision on his status for the game against the Chargers.
The Commanders received a positive update on Daniels on Wednesday. “Jayden Daniels has been medically cleared by doctors and he will practice fully today, coach Dan Quinn announced,” wrote NFL insider Ian Rapoport on X.
Later, Daniels confirmed that he plans to play on Sunday. While it’s never good to jump to conclusions, it appears that barring any significant setback this week, Daniels will ultimately play for the Commanders in Week 5.
Jayden Daniels on if his knee feels better than it did a week ago: “I plan on going out there Sunday, so yeah.”
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 1, 2025
Daniels got off to an okay start for the Commanders this season, completing 43 of 72 passes for 433 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while adding 85 yards on the ground. He earned a PFSN QBi grade of 63.6 in his two games, ranking 31st in the league.
While that performance falls short of the standard fans have come to expect following his sensational rookie season, the team would still welcome him back as the starter.
If Daniels cannot play in Week 5, the Commanders would turn to backup Marcus Mariota, who has started the last two games. In those starts, Mariota earned a PFSN QBi grade of 83.5, the eighth-best in the NFL this year, giving the team a more than capable backup if necessary.
More information about Daniels’ status will be available as the week goes on, but all signs point to the 2024 offensive Rookie of the Year returning against the Chargers on Sunday, October 5.
