There was no better offensive coordinator/quarterback in the NFC in 2024 than Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders. Kingsbury designed the perfect offense around his star quarterback, and Daniels made virtually everything work.
Things haven’t gone as smoothly this season. Multiple injuries to Daniels and to some of his top offensive weapons took Washington’s offense from one of the NFL’s best to one that struggles to score at times. The Commanders shut down Daniels on Monday, ruling him out for the rest of the season after he reaggravated his left elbow injury in Week 14.
Daniels described this as a “disappointing and frustrating” season.
On Thursday, Kingsbury weighed in on Daniels being ruled out for the remainder of the season.
“Disappointed for him,” Kingsbury said. “Like I’ve said before, he loves to practice, loves to play, loves all parts of the game, but, you know, [General Manager] AP [Adam Peters] and [Head Coach] DQ [Dan Quinn] came to a decision on it, and so that’s kind of part of the game.”
The Commanders made a decision in the best long-term interests of Daniels and the franchise. It’s important to note that Daniels still wasn’t cleared for contact this week, so this isn’t a case where Washington was afraid of playing Daniels.
Kingsbury acknowledged it’s difficult to evaluate Daniels’ 2025 season due to being in and out of the lineup.
“Yeah, no doubt. I think with how it went, it’s just hard to get an assessment, but he did all the things you can ask him as preparation and practice habits, things of that nature. Just was one of those years with inconsistency as far as availability, unfortunately.”
When Daniels was on the field, he wasn’t as sharp as he was in 2024. Some of that can be explained by being in and out of the lineup. It also looked like Daniels wasn’t playing with the same confidence from one year ago. Kingsbury doesn’t believe that’s the case.
“No, I don’t,” Kingsbury answered. “I think these are things you have to go through as a young player, you know, it’s part of the deal, developing thicker skin, and you know, mental toughness through some of this adversity. But he’s super competitive, you know, he loves to play the game, and he’ll be better for this and having to go through this and really manage it throughout the season.”
If Daniels did lack any confidence at any point, it would be understandable. Not only due to his injuries, but all of the uncertainty around him. Washington was without star wide receiver Terry McLaurin for much of the season.
The Commanders have three games remaining. And while this season can’t end soon enough for the fans, the players and coaches still view each game as an opportunity.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Did injuries damage Jayden Daniels’ confidence?
