The Washington Commanders have been hit with their share of injuries this year, and their fans were likely holding their breath when star quarterback Jayden Daniels left Sunday's Week 7 matchup against the division rival Dallas Cowboys with an apparent leg injury.
With 11:47 left in the third quarter, Daniels dropped back and his ankle/leg appeared to get pinned under Cowboys linebacker Shemar James before turning the ball over.
He limped off the field and was helped to the blue medical tent, where he was evaluated before heading to the locker room.
Backup Marcus Mariota, who started two games for the Commanders earlier this season, started the next drive while Daniels was still getting evaluated in the locker room.
Daniels completed 12 of 22 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a team-high 35 yards and another touchdown on eight carries before his injury.
The consensus seems to be that Daniels’ injury was to his right hamstring and not his ankle. Video replay shows him grabbing his hamstring as he writhed in pain.
“His hamstring was stretched in an abnormal position,” well-known sports doctor Jesse Morse wrote on X. “If his knee is involved, it's most likely an injury to his (posterior) meniscus. ACL unlikely but possible. You would think it would have been to his left knee the way it bent but no. That was the knee he previously injured. You can see him grab the back of his right leg/knee at the end of the play.”
If Daniels indeed has a hamstring injury, there’s plenty of cause for concern. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury of his own, and there’s uncertainty about whether he’ll be ready for the Ravens’ Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 26.
This is a developing story and updates will be provided as they become available.
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