Jayden Daniels officially ruled out of Washington Commanders next NFL game with knee injury

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has officially ruled star quarterback Jayden Daniels out for Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders with a knee injury.  

Quinn stated Friday that Daniels was limited in practice and would not play a little more than a week after the second-year superstar suffered the injury in Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers. 

With Daniels out of the lineup, Marcus Mariota will start in his place, with the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner being elevated to the QB1 role temporarily after serving as the primary backup for the last two seasons. 

Sunday will serve as the first NFL game in Daniels' career he has missed with injury, as he played in all 20 of the Commanders' contests during his rookie season. 

Daniels has been the catalyst for Washington's resurgence, leading the team to its best season in over 30 years, reaching the NFC Championship Game. 

He helped the team snap a 19-year postseason win drought and is widely regarded as the key cog in their bid to go one better this season and fight for a Lombardi Trophy.

Daniels has avoided a more serious injury - unlike his fellow quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow, who is out for the next three months. 

Mariota, meanwhile, has started 74 games in an 11-year NFL career and is a very able backup for the team.

Last season, he went 34 of 44 for 364 yards and four touchdowns in three relief appearances for Washington, but he hasn't started a game since 2022. 

Following the contest against the Raiders, the Commanders have back-to-back road games, first against the Atlanta Falcons, and then against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Washington enters Sunday's game with a 1-1 record, defeating NFC East rivals, the New York Giants, in Week 1.