Jayden Daniels injury: Commanders QB Marcus Mariota to start Week 3 vs. Raiders; fantasy, betting impact
Daniels injured his knee in Washington's Week 2 loss to the Packers
By
Will Backus
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4 min read
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is out for Sunday's game against the Las Vegas Raiders, head coach Dan Quinn announced Friday. Daniels was held out of practice throughout the week and was limited Friday while working his way back from a sprained knee that he suffered in a loss to the Green Bay Packers last Thursday night.
That means veteran Marcus Mariota, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, will log his first start with the Commanders and his first since the 2022 season when he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Mariota, 31, is in his second year in Washington, where he has served as Daniels' backup. Mariota started 61 games in five seasons with the Tennessee Titans but has bounced around the league between the Raiders, Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and Commanders in the years since.
Daniels suffered the knee injury late in the game against Green Bay but was able to finish all four quarters. He threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns and was sacked four times by a Packers defensive front that is led by major trade acquisition Micah Parsons. The loss in Green Bay dropped the Commanders to 1-1.
Who is Commanders' backup QB? Marcus Mariota will start vs. Raiders with Jayden Daniels injured
Will Backus
Quinn noted that he was encouraged by the fact that Daniels was able to throw all week and that he ran in a restricted capacity Friday. However, Quinn said Daniels was not "there all the way yet" and able to "do everything," which led the team to ultimately hold him out.
"We said at the beginning that we were going to be very diligent on his return to play and make sure that we didn't miss any steps," Quinn said. "So we're going to be smart, not just fast. He's a player that wants to do everything all the time. That's who he is as a competitor, which I love. But that's how we'll roll."
Daniels, the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has logged 433 yards and three touchdowns passing through the first two games this season. He has yet to rush for a touchdown and only has 85 yards on the ground after posting six rushing scores last season.
In his debut season, Daniels -- the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- tied former Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger's NFL record for rookie wins (14), including the postseason. He finished with a completion rate at 69%, accumulating 3,568 yards passing and 25 touchdowns with nine interceptions while leading the Commanders all the way to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles.
Betting impact of Jayden Daniels' injury
The lookahead line before Week 2 had the Commanders as six-point favorites in this matchup. With Daniels' injury coming to light, the line dropped down to Commanders -3.5 for the bulk of the week as his status stood in doubt. Fast-forward to Daniels now officially being ruled out, and the line for this game has fallen below the key field goal number to Commanders -2.5. As expected, the total has also started to dip after opening at 44, ticking down to 43.5. It wouldn't be a surprise if that gets bet down even further now that we know it'll be Mariota under center.
As for how we're handicapping this game, here's what CBS Sports senior NFL analyst Pete Prisco had to say about this contest on Wednesday, factoring in the possibility of Daniels being sidelined: "Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is dealing with a knee injury that could keep him out of this one. That would mean Marcus Mariota would start. The Raiders are coming off a terrible showing Monday night on offense against the Chargers, and this is a long trip on a short week. Commanders will win, no matter who plays quarterback, but the Raiders hang around."
He took the points with Raiders +3.5 at the time, which coincides with two other CBS Sports experts in our full Week 3 picks hub, which you can check out here. You can find Raiders +3.5 at -142 at FanDuel Sportsbook.
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Fantasy impact of Jayden Daniels' injury
Marcus Mariota should be considered a No. 2 fantasy quarterback with upside in Week 3 against the Raiders with Jayden Daniels (knee) out. We saw Mariota play two games in 2024, and he scored 23.6 fantasy points against Carolina in Week 7 and 30 points at Dallas in Week 18.
Mariota is always capable of making plays with his legs, and he should lean on Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz. I like Samuel as a No. 2 fantasy receiver in most formats since he's off to a hot start with at least 17.4 PPR points in each game, and Ertz is a No. 1 tight end with at least 11.6 PPR points in both games this season. McLaurin is off to a slow start with seven catches for 75 yards and no touchdowns on 13 targets in two games, but hopefully he'll perform better with Mariota.
As for the backfield, this is the first game without Austin Ekeler (Achilles tear), but Jacory Croskey-Merritt is just a flex option at best in all formats.
