Sources – Commanders’ Jayden Daniels has knee injury, status iffy

ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels sprained his left knee Thursday, leaving his status for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders in doubt, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Daniels, last season’s offensive rookie of the year, injured his knee in Thursday’s 27-18 loss at Green Bay. He had a large ice pack on his left knee after the game and walked with a limp out of the building. A day later he underwent an MRI, which revealed no major damage, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

If Daniels can’t play it would be the first missed game of his career. He exited in the first quarter of a Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers with a rib injury. He did not play in the second half of the regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys because of “mild leg soreness,” coach Dan Quinn said at the time.

Marcus Mariota would start in place of Daniels, facing one of his former teams. Mariota replaced Daniels in both of those games last season and completed 33 of 41 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns.

Thursday’s loss proved a costly one for Washington, who lost two starters to season-ending injuries — running back Austin Ekeler (Achilles) and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. (quad). Two other Commanders exited with groin injuries — receiver Noah Brown and tight end John Bates — while cornerback Jonathan Jones left with a hamstring injury.

Last season the Commanders had only one starter miss as many as nine games — defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. Their health played a key role in the Commanders’ 12-5 season and berth in the NFC Championship Game.