The Washington Commanders will have quarterback Jayden Daniels back under center on Sunday. Daniels, who missed the last two games with a knee injury, practiced fully all week, and head coach Dan Quinn officially announced on Friday that he’d be in the starting lineup in Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Commanders ruled out three players on Thursday: wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown and guard Sam Cosmi. No other players were ruled out on Friday, which meant everyone who made the trip to California will play against the Chargers.
So, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and cornerback Mike Sainristil will be on the field. That’s big news for Washington. Samuel has been the Commanders’ top receiver this season, and if he missed Week 5, the only healthy receivers on the roster would’ve been Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane and Chris Moore. If you combine that with Daniels missing the last two weeks and facing one of the NFL’s defenses upon his return, Washington needs all the help it can get.
Samuel appeared on the injury report this week with a heel injury, missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He returned to practice on Friday and will play.
As for Samuel, there was never a doubt.
Deebo was asked if he ever doubted he’d be able to play Sunday … pic.twitter.com/ArR72nbw2n
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 3, 2025
Sainristil was dealing with a knee injury, but did practice on Friday.
In more good news, defensive tackle Daron Payne will also be in the starting lineup on Sunday. Payne first appeared on Thursday’s injury report as limited with a knee injury. He did not practice on Friday, but plans on playing.
“Yeah, so we gave him a day, just get recovered and get going,” Quinn said of Payne. “So yeah, we expect him ready to roll.”
Finally, some good injury news for the Commanders.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Good news ahead of Week 5 vs. Chargers
