Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome arm injury on Sunday Night that may have ended his season. In a 38-14 blowout between the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders, things quickly turned serious when Daniels fell awkwardly on his arm. It was diagnosed as an elbow dislocation, but the MRI revealed no fractures or ligament damage.
Advertisement
Regardless, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn faced a lot of criticism for his decision-making on Sunday… for leaving Daniels in an unwinnable game. Afterward, Quinn admitted it was a mistake on his part, and said it’s “100% on me.” He has not yet provided a timetable for Daniels’ return.
Almost everyone agrees that the sophomore QB shouldn’t have been left in the game on Sunday, especially since the Commanders were down by at least four scores with just seven minutes left on the clock. However, former quarterback Derek Carr disagrees. This is the NFL, he says, adding that there is no garbage time in the big league.
“The worst word that I hate the most is ‘Garbage time,’” Carr said on his podcast Home Grown. “In the NFL, there is no garbage time. Every rep matters. Every rep matters for your future, for your teammates, and what you put on tape. Because you’re going to watch all of those clips, no one’s going to worry about the score. We’re correcting, teaching, and getting better.”
According to Carr, players like Daniels don’t care about the score; they care about playing, stating that they signed up to play football, not stand on the sidelines.
Derek’s brother, David, who is also a former NFL quarterback, agreed with this notion. In fact, he actually took it one step further.
“If he would’ve tried pulling Jayden in that game, he would’ve been very upset,” David Carr said. “Probably would’ve caused more problems.”
However, the brothers also admitted that, at the end of the day, coaches need to take care of their players. That means forcing guys to sit out when a game is out of reach, because players like Daniels aren’t going to want to do that. Both Carrs know this from firsthand experience in the NFL.
All in all, it’s a good reminder that athletes are the ultimate competitors. They will always want to play regardless of the score or situation. But sometimes, coaches need to step in and pull their guys when things are out of hand. It’s what Quinn should’ve done with Daniels, and now he’s paying a price he can’t afford. Kudos to him for taking the blame, but what a crucial error that could end the Commanders’ playoff hopes.
