It was tough news for Washington Commanders fans, Monday when coach Dan Quinn met with the press.
Firstly, Quinn wanted to acknowledge he was “bummed for” Austin Ekeler and Deatrich Wise, who have “made a tremendous impact on our team, on the field and off the field.” Both were lost for the season with severe injuries in the loss at Green Bay, Thursday.
Quinn then declared they are still assessing injuries on four other players, Noah Brown, John Jones, John Bates, and Jayden Daniels.
Daniels is “day-to-day,” and Quinn said he will be able to provide more insights on Wednesday when meeting with the press before practice. Quinn was clear that Daniels is injured and that he “must hit all the markers” before he can return to play.
When asked what those markers were, Quinn referred to tests of strength, movement, change of direction, and pivoting. Quinn put himself on record Monday, saying he would “have to see all the steps” before Daniels would be back out there in a game.
He talked of there being a “robust return to play program” and that it is essential that Daniels (and the others) “not miss any of the markers.” In other words, we can’t afford to rush these guys back early, for a short-term gain, because the long-term consequences are too high if they don’t do their diligence and give these guys time to heal.
Thus, Quinn went as far as saying he “will take it all the way to Friday” when determining if the starter for the Week 3 home game against the Raiders will be Marcus Mariota or Daniels. He did declare his “confidence in him (Mariota) is through the roof.”