Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Suffers Gruesome MNF Injury

Of all the terrible injury luck the Washington Commanders have had this season, it can’t really get much worst than this.

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome injury to his left arm in the fourth quarter of a 38-14 Week 9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that left the rest of the NFL reeling in shock.

Replays of the injury were not for those with weak stomachs.

Daniels, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was back in the lineup after missing a Week 8 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with a hamstring injury. He’d also missed 2 games earlier this season with a knee sprain.

“A terrifying injury,” Barstool Sports wrote on its official X account. “Prayers for Jayden Daniels.

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson tweeted the prayer hands emoji plus “Jayden Daniels” on his official X account.

Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, left the field with his left arm in an oversized air cast and surrounded by his teammates.

The loss dropped the Commanders to 3-6. It was their fourth consecutive loss.

The injury brought back memories from almost 40 years ago, when Washington quarterback Joe Theismann suffered a compound leg fracture on Monday Night Football against the Giants.

Blame Placed on Commanders Coaching Staff

Much of the blame immediately following the injury was directed at the Commanders coaching staff, with people questioning why Daniels was even in the game late in a blowout loss and already coming off an injury.

“This was malpractice by Dan Quinn,” CBS Sports NFL analyst Damien Harris said immediately following the injury. “(Jayden Daniels) is your prized possession as a franchise. What’s the point of having him in the game!?”

“Jayden Daniels was set up to fail,” X user Cam wrote on his official account. “Washington couldn’t protect him, signed old, declining players, and expected Daniels to play Superman every week to save them.

Jayden deserves so much better.”

“They were punting the football at mid-field down 30 points and Jayden Daniels came back into the game,” Commanders Realm’s Eric Scully wrote on his official X account. “I’m too stuck to even fathom how they allowed that to happen. I’m not going to call for DQ’s job but I can’t remember a worse night for an NFL head coach.”

“I don’t like throwing out the word negligent often, but what the Washington Commanders have done with Jayden Daniels this season has been grossly irresponsible.” former NFL player and podcast host Emmanuel Acho wrote on his official X account.

It left many wondering what the damage to Daniels’ arm might actually be.

“Jayden Daniels‘ elbow dislocation injury was grotesque, but because it is not his throwing elbow, there will not be a Tommy John UCL surgery,” Dr. David Chao wrote on his official X account. “This injury is not career-threatening, and depending on the associated injuries, there is a slim chance it may not be season-ending.”

One former Washington quarterback and former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year had to weigh in as well.

“WHY WAS JAYDEN DANIELS EVEN STILL IN THE GAME?!?!?!” Robert Griffin III wrote on his official X account.

Celtics Reach Final Decision on Future of First-Round Draft Pick

The 18-time NBA champion Boston Celtics may have said that they do not see this season as a “rebuilding year,”

but the reality is, thanks to the restrictions imposed by the new “second apron” provisions of the NBA collective bargaining agreement, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was forced to largely dismantle the team that won the 2024 championship, and followed up with a 61-win season last year.

But on Thursday, the Celtics made a decision to retain a player who, they believe, can help them put a new winning unit back together not only with his ability on the court but with his contract, which comes at very reasonable cost.

Due to the new financial restrictions and basketball penalties imposed by the CBA for exceeding the second salary “apron,” Stevens was forced to trade away two-time All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, and

10-year veteran “unicorn” big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Celtics Also Lost Horford, Kornet

Stevens also had little choice but to let two other key members of the Celtics 18th championship run walk away in free agency. Backup center Luke Kornet inked a deal with the

San Antonio Spurs, while 39-year-old, 19-year veteran Al Horford — who was arguably the spiritual heart and soul of the team — departed for the Golden State Warriors.

Finally, in the most important loss of all, four-time All-NBA first teamer Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in a playoff game against the New York Knicks in May and will likely miss the entire 2025-2026 season.

With their recent run of successful seasons, the Celtics have not had a top 10 draft pick, or even one higher than No. 14, since they took Tatum at No. 3 in 2017

. On Thursday, however, they gave a powerful vote of confidence to their 2024 first-round pick, taken at No. 30 overall out of Creighton.

Celtics Pick Up Option on First-Round Pick

According to a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Celtics “will exercise the third-year $2.74 million team option on Baylor Scheierman for the 2026-27 season.”

The Celtics had a deadline of Friday

to make a decision on whether to exercise their option to keep the 25-year-old Scheierman for a third season.

As recently as Wednesday night, following the Celtics 20-point win over

the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden, Scheierman told MassLive “I haven’t had any conversations about that” with team officials. But the following day, Scheierman found his Celtics future secured, at least through the 2026-2027 season.

Low Cost Contract Helps Celtics Rebuild

Scheierman had an uneven rookie season, appearing in 31 games for Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, averaging 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in his 12.4 minutes per game.

So far in 2025-2026, the 6-foot-6, 205-pounder has played in four of the Celtics’ five games, getting just 8.5 minutes on the floor on average.

The primary motivation for keeping Scheierman in Celtic green however, was likely financial. By exercising their option to keep the first-round draft pick, Boston owes him just $2.74 million for next season,

after paying him $2.6 million this season.

“Those low-cost deals are the types of contracts the Celtics will need to fill out their roster after having a couple of supermax contracts taking up a large chunk of the cap,”

wrote Brian Robb of MassLive, referring to the contracts of Tatum and 2016 No. 3 overall pick Jaylen Brown.

In 2023, Brown signed a five-year “supermax” contract extension for $285.4 million

. The following year, the Celtics gave Tatum his own supermax deal, for $313.9 million over five seasons.

The team also holds an option for a fourth year on Scheierman, which will cost the Celtics $4.95 million in 2027-2028, if they choose to exercise it.