Jayden Daniels appears to send clear message about his rib injury

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels left his team’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday with a rib injury, but there is optimism that he will be fine going forward.

Daniels appeared to be in pain and had his midsection examined midway through the first quarter at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. He then went to the locker room, and the Commanders announced that he had suffered a rib injury.

Daniels appeared to hurt his ribs after he ripped off a huge run and was dragged to the ground on Washington’s first play from scrimmage. You can see the video here.

The bad news is that Daniels was ruled out for the remainder of the game at halftime. The good news is that he joined the team on the sideline and went out of his way to smile and gesture to the fans, which seemed like a message that the rib injury is not serious.

CBS sideline reporter Evan Washburn also said he asked Daniels how the rookie was feeling, and Daniels said “I’m good” and gave a thumbs up.

And if you want more evidence that Daniels’ injury is not serious, his mother Regina Jackson took to X and wrote, “He’s fine.”

The Commanders had a 27-0 lead over the Panthers at halftime. Even if Daniels were healthy enough to return to the game, it is possible Washington would not have wanted to risk anything given the score.

Daniels has gotten his NFL career off to an outstanding start. The former LSU star entered Sunday’s game with 1,404 passing yards, 322 rushing yards and 10 total touchdowns. He has already drawn comparisons to one of the NFL’s best players, though Daniels had a great response to that talk. Hopefully he does not miss anymore time.