Dan Quinn Admits He Should Have Taken Out Jayden Daniels Before Devastating Injury
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow in his team's blowout loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night, and while X-rays luckily came back negative, he's expected to miss some time—pending results of an MRI.
Despite trailing 38–7 with just over seven minutes to go, Washington opted to not only keep their franchise quarterback in the game, but also call an option play near the goal line. Daniels pulled the ball and attempted to escape a Seattle defender before landing awkwardly on his left arm. He was helped off the field by trainers—his elbow immobilized—and did not return to the contest.
Immediately following the loss, coach Dan Quinn told reporters that despite being down 31 points, he did not consider taking Daniels out of the game. On Monday afternoon, however, he admitted that he should have.
"I know many of you have been asking about the thought process of Jayden being in the game in that situation," Quinn explained. "And I get that. I've been thinking about it, honestly, nonstop too. For me, the answer is: I missed it."
Fans and media alike questioned Quinn’s decision in real time, and it proved to be an unfortunate mistake—one that the coach is clearly pretty broken up about.
Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow on Sunday night. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
While admitting his decision was the wrong one, Quinn explained his thought process at his Monday presser, detailing why he chose to keep Daniels in the game at that point.
"At the start of the fourth quarter, I guess there was like 12:30 left in the game, and that was gonna be the last drive of the game for a couple of the guys—Jayden, and Zach [Ertz], and Deebo [Samuel]," he explained. " ... We weren't gonna have any read-run plays, meaning no carries for the quarterback on a run. And honestly, man, that's where I missed it. Of course he can scramble, it's Jayden, it's what he's special at. And that is 100%, that's on me."
Now sitting at 3–6 to begin the 2025 campaign, the Commanders are likely turn to backup Marcus Mariota, rather than looking at the free agent or trade market for another starter. They're set to take on the Lions next Sunday, Nov. 9 for a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff.
Giants Veteran Floated as Potential Trade Target for Vikings
NFL teams are in the final stage of what they want to do at the trade deadline, and that includes the Minnesota Vikings. At 4-4, Kevin O’Connell and his team are at the bottom of the NFC North, but remain in the conference’s playoff picture.
After beating the Detroit Lions in Week 9, the Vikings have a puncher’s chance not just to secure an NFC Wildcard spot, but possibly win the division if the situation goes their way. Moreover, Minnesota might not need to make a splashy move, but one that improves its depth.
With the season-ending injury to Carson Wentz, the Vikings don’t have a reliable veteran quarterback behind J.J. McCarthy. If the young player struggles or an injury should arise, there’s not much behind him.
As a result, CBS Sports NFL analyst Ran Carthon believes that New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson would be an ideal last-minute target for Minnesota to have as insurance behind McCarthy.
“I like Russ here,”
“But adding a guy like Russell Wilson, if you think about Russell Wilson when he was at his best, he had a strong defense and weapons all around him. I think going to a team like Minnesota, not as a starter, but as a quality backup for them, they’re sitting at 4-4 right now.”
Would Russell Wilson Want to Go to Minnesota?
If Wilson were to head to the Vikings, he’d be in a similar situation as he’s currently in with the Giants, serving as a backup for a young quarterback. Nonetheless, Carthon sees this as an ideal fit for Wilson because, as of now, McCarthy hasn’t been able to stay healthy.
“[The Vikings are] not out of it in the division, and they’re not out of it in the wild card,” Carthon added. “I think if something were to happen with J.J. McCarthy because he hadn’t been able to stay healthy, having a veteran like Russell Wilson there could right the ship and keep them in contention come January…
“[And] to have the ability to throw to Justin Jefferson and [Jordan] Addison and [T.J. Hockenson] and be able to play with Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason. Those are all guys that are playing really good football at this point. And that would give him much better weapons than, I’ll say, what the Giants currently have.”
The Vikings Did Add a Veteran QB
While Wilson would be an interesting name to bring to the Vikings, Minnesota did make a move to bolster its depth at quarterback. On October 29,
Wolford played in seven NFL games and started four from 2020 to 2022, including a 2020 start with the Los Angeles Rams when O’Connell served as his offensive coordinator. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings feel that having rookie Max Brosmer and Wolford is enough depth behind McCarthy.
