Jayden Daniels practices in London, but Schefter says offseason surgery is coming

Daniels on the field in London, but his elbow situation just got bigger

He made the flight. He got his cleats on. He stood in a practice session at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's training facility with a specialized brace locked around his left arm. For a team that has watched Jayden Daniels get hurt twice in the same joint in less than a year, seeing him upright and moving was enough to matter. But Thursday brought a harder piece of news alongside the good optics: ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Daniels is not expected to play in Week 4 and will need surgery on his elbow after the 2026 season ends.

That word, surgery, is the one Commanders GM Adam Peters spent a week trying to hold off. Peters had said publicly that "surgery is not on the table," and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had reported a return of "three weeks or sooner." Both of those things may still be technically true in the short term. The Commanders didn't put Daniels on injured reserve. They brought him to London. His practice Wednesday was described by The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala more as a jog-through than a throwing session, but he was out there, and Dan Quinn has not officially ruled him out for Sunday.

The elbow in question is his left, non-throwing arm. Daniels dislocated it just before halftime of the Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, tripping on a dropback and putting the arm out to break his fall. That was the second time he has dislocated the same joint in roughly ten months. He did it first in a Week 9 loss against Seattle last November, missed three games, came back, then aggravated it again and was shut down for the final four games of 2025. The elbow already had mileage on it before Week 2 of this season even finished.

Because this is the second dislocation in under a year, the ligaments have been stretched and weakened. The brace he is wearing locks the joint in place and is, per reporting, a non-negotiable piece of his uniform for the rest of the 2026 campaign. Playing through it is possible. Rapoport's sourcing still suggests a Week 5 return against the Giants is likelier than Sunday against the Colts.

Quinn: 'We're not going to put him out there before he's ready'

Head coach Dan Quinn announced Monday that Daniels, linebacker Frankie Luvu, and tight end Chig Okonkwo would all make the trip to London and practice "in some form and fashion." That language, deliberately loose, has been Quinn's way of managing expectations all week. Bringing those three players across the Atlantic signals they have a chance to play. It does not mean they will.

"We're not going to put him out there before he's ready," Quinn told reporters this week. The coaching staff is watching how Daniels responds to the initial practice sessions abroad before making a final call later in the week.

The injury picture beyond Daniels is also messy. The Commanders placed defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton on injured reserve Monday with a pectoral injury, and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil also went on IR with a triceps injury. Starting guard Sam Cosmi and safety Nick Cross were ruled out for the London game as well. Marcus Mariota, who beat Seattle in Week 3 and was named FedEx Air Player of the Week for it, heads into Sunday as the starter by default unless Daniels clears.

London or not, the 1-2 record is the backdrop

Washington sits at 1-2, fourth in the NFC East, after an injury-riddled start under Dan Quinn. The team fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. after last season's 5-12 wreck, promoted David Blough to OC, and brought in Daronte Jones as DC. The organizational reset was supposed to get a full season of healthy Daniels. Instead, Washington has had him for fewer than two full games.

The Commanders remain underdogs against Indianapolis on Sunday. Kickoff from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London is set for 9:30 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, October 4.

The offseason surgery news changes the lens on all of it. Even if Daniels manages to gut through the next few weeks in a brace, his elbow needs to be fixed when the season ends. Schefter's report notes that Daniels is attempting to play through the injury for now, which is admirable and also risky. Every hard fall on a weakened joint is a roll of the dice. Quinn knows it. Daniels knows it. Washington fans watching from home at 9:30 in the morning will know it too, every time their quarterback hits the turf.

Sources

• Sports Illustrated: Latest Jayden Daniels Injury Update Keeps Commanders as Underdogs vs. Colts in Week 4
• Yahoo Sports: Commanders expect injured QB Jayden Daniels to fly with team to London
• Bleacher Report: Jayden Daniels Injury Update Ahead of NFL Week 4
• Covers.com: When Will Jayden Daniels Return? Star QB Could Need Offseason Surgery
• Washington Commanders Official Site: Final Thoughts, Daniels will practice in London this week
• Yardbarker / DC Sports King: Jayden Daniels Battles Severe Injury, Looming Surgery To Join The Commanders In London
• ESPN: Washington Commanders Injuries
• Goal.com: Washington Commanders vs. Indianapolis Colts, London kick-off time and TV