Commanders, Vikings bring quarterback question marks into showdown

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is inching toward returning to the field for Sunday’s game against the Vikings in Minnesota.

Team medical personnel haven’t cleared the second-year signal-caller for contact, but coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that he’s “optimistic.”

A good week of practice could lead to Daniels starting on Sunday, but no decision will be made until Friday.

“There’s still functional evaluations to go through, but the game plan and practicing and that part is good,” Quinn said. “It’s a little more challenging to work at the quarterback when you’re not doing the same contact, so we’ll have to simulate as much as we can. But he’s off to a good start.”

Daniels wasn’t visibly hampered during Wednesday’s on-field work, firing passes to his fellow quarterbacks and assistant coach David Blough. His injured left elbow — which he dislocated during a Nov. 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks — didn’t stop him from pointing and waving at the “Hard Knocks” cameras cataloguing practice.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft didn’t wear any kind of brace on the elbow joint during Wednesday’s practice. More and more signs point to Daniels’ potential return on Sunday.

His teammates are eager to have the dual-threat passer back on the field.

“Having No. 5 back is awesome. The work that he put in from last year going into this year and the work that he’s put in off the field to try to get back on the field,” running back Jeremy McNichols said. “It’s always good seeing No. 5 out there and the energy he brings.”

If Daniels is still unable to play, veteran Marcus Mariota would fill in for his seventh start of the season. The backup’s numbers have been unimpressive — nine touchdowns and six interceptions for a middling 87.1 passer rating — though he shined in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Vikings find themselves in a similar spot with their second-year quarterback, J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan product missed last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks due to a concussion and missed five games earlier this season with a high-ankle sprain. Daniels was stuck on the sidelines earlier in this season with a knee sprain and a hamstring strain.

The comparisons end there. Daniels has been solid in his limited playing time, if lacking the same dynamism that made him the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season.

McCarthy has struggled. His 54% completion percentage ranks as the worst in the league among players with at least three starts. He’s tossed 10 interceptions — tied for fourth-most in the NFL — despite missing half of Minnesota’s games.

“It’s purely about decision-making at this point,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said of McCarthy on Monday. “I want him to have a clear head and a clear mind to just go play, but play with an understanding of the decisions that I make with the ball in my hand.”

Despite sharing similar losing records — the Vikings are 4-8 while the Commanders are 3-9 — the two teams appear headed in opposite directions. Washington has shown signs of life during their last two losses, which arrived in overtime. Minnesota has looked rudderless during a four-game skid.

While Washington lost a hard-fought game against the AFC-leading Broncos, Minnesota fell 26-0 to the Seahawks. Vikings backup Max Brosner didn’t ignite a quarterback controversy in his debut start last week. The undrafted rookie tossed four interceptions in the loss.

The Commanders, meanwhile, returned to practice this week with a reinvigorated energy.

“We lost,” Quinn told his team after their seventh consecutive defeat. “But we’re not lost anymore.”

A win on Sunday would help rally the troops for the Commanders’ final four games.

“It don’t matter what week it is. A win helps teams regardless of whether it’s late in the season, early in the season, good record, bad record,” cornerback Mike Sainristil said. “We just want to go out there and win, no matter how they look.”