Doctors fear risk of further Jayden Daniels elbow injury
Doctors around the NFL are split on whether Jayden Daniels will dislocate his left elbow again, but Washington is sending him out Sunday against the Giants wearing a brace anyway.
Why this is trending
People are searching this because of an ESPN report, published Thursday, saying doctors around the NFL believe it is a matter of when, not if, Jayden Daniels hurts his left elbow again. Daniels has dislocated that elbow twice in the past 11 months, most recently in Week 2, and he missed the two Commanders games that followed.
Here is what is actually known. Daniels went to see specialists in New York and Los Angeles. Sources told ESPN the overwhelming opinion among those specialists was that playing with a brace is a viable option. Separately, other doctors around the league, who have not examined Daniels themselves, told ESPN that a player who dislocates the same elbow twice is at higher risk of a third dislocation.
What is not known is which group turns out to be right. The specialists who actually examined Daniels signed off on the brace. The doctors raising the alarm are doing so from a distance, without having looked at the elbow. Both things are true at once, and that is the whole story right now.
The plan heading into Sunday
Daniels was a full participant in practice all week. Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough said Thursday that Daniels would be a "full go" Sunday against the New York Giants. Blough said there will be no limitations to Washington's game plan because of the elbow.
Daniels backed that up himself, saying he can do everything he needs to do with the brace on, including handing off and taking snaps from center. He is expected to wear the brace for the remainder of the season, not just this week.
Who's behind him
Washington has already ruled out Marcus Mariota for Sunday with a sprained MCL. That makes rookie Athan Kaliakmanis the backup quarterback against the Giants, a detail worth knowing given the elbow concerns surrounding the starter.
What happens next
Nothing here gets settled by one game. Daniels and the Commanders are proceeding on the belief that a brace is enough to let him play his position the way he needs to. The doctors who examined him agree. The doctors watching from outside the building do not. The only way anyone finds out who had it right is by watching what happens to that elbow over the rest of the season.
Facts per ESPN. Opinion is the taproom's.