Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels embracing QB battle
Throughout much of training camp, the Washington Commanders have moved without declaring rookie Jayden McDaniels the starting quarterback.
With the start of the preseason quickly approaching, the Commanders are rolling through with a competition for the starting job. Despite that being the case, Daniels embraced the competition for the position.
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“I like competing,” Daniels said Friday via ESPN. “Regardless if I’m announced as the starter or not, I still have to compete. You can’t be content with your job or [be] comfortable. So for me it’s not a problem at all. It’s up to DQ and AP for the decision, but for me, I can control how hard I practice and I compete.”
Daniels has held down much of the first-team reps while Marcus Mariota has been the primary quarterback going through full-team workouts.
The Commanders are clearly progressively bringing Daniels to not overboard him with a significant workload through training camp. Meanwhile, the presence of a veteran in Mariota allows the team to ease their prized rookie along in his first NFL training camp.
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“We have an effective plan for him, and Jayden is the type of guy who wants to go nail it,” Quinn said. “We’ll stay true to this. We’re not too far down the line of where we’re headed, and we’re staying in the moment with him and that helps. He’s doing outstanding.”
Washington will likely give him ample time in the preseason to garner much-needed experience ahead of the 2024 season. Daniels is the future under center.
