Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels will start Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the team announced less than two hours before kickoff. The rookie was considered questionable heading into the game due to a rib injury.
Daniels suffered the injury on the first play of last week’s 40-7 win against the Carolina Panthers. Coach Dan Quinn noted that his signal-caller was tackled awkwardly and wouldn’t wear any additional padding for Sunday’s game.
The No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL draft missed this week’s first two practices and was limited on Friday.
“We followed the plan really, that we set at the start of the week,” Quinn said Friday. “Think of crawl, walk, run, like we do with a lot of guys on the return back from injury.”
The coaching staff noted that it would see how the reigning Heisman Trophy felt during pregame warm-ups. He followed his usual routine, going through shooting motions with a basketball at Northwest Stadium.
If Daniels had not been able to start, or if he’s injured during Sunday’s game, journeyman backup Marcus Mariota will take over under center.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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