The Washington Commanders hope to get back on track after last season's disappointing 5-12 finish, amid injury issues involving their starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels. Daniels is entering his third season after becoming the Commanders' second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft behind Caleb Williams. After playing in all 17 games as a rookie and nearly leading the team to the Super Bowl, he only started and played in seven games last season, going 2-5.
He's back and healthy for the coming season, and the Commanders have made a key change for Daniels this offseason in how he runs the offense. The Commanders are reportedly working on Daniels huddling more with the offense. It's something Daniels has never done play-to-play as an NFL player.
Per The Athletic's report, the Commanders were under center the least of all NFL teams, at just 32% with Daniels on the field, compared to an NFL median of 82%. More news: Ben Johnson’s Caleb Williams Revelation is Bad News for the Rest of the NFL Head coach Dan Quinn said he was pleased with the results of footage recorded from a GoPro cam on Daniels during practices, which showed how comfortable he was in the huddle, something he was having to learn more. "He was always so calm and cool, and he’s still that way in the huddle. … That’s a big deal.
There’s a calmness when the quarterback, in the chaos, is like, ‘We’re good, man,'" Quinn said. Changing up this offensive approach can benefit Daniels and the Commanders in multiple ways. It can protect Daniels from being hit as much, which is significant.
Daniels suffered multiple injuries last season, including a dislocated elbow, a left knee sprain, and a right hamstring strain, causing him to miss multiple games. The huddle can also prevent the Commanders from burning unnecessary timeouts, which they did a lot last year when they weren't huddling. That can certainly come in useful in late-game management.
The new offensive approach comes as the Commanders also have a new offensive coordinator, David Blough, who will reportedly be able to relay more information to Daniels through the huddle. Blough, formerly the assistant quarterbacks coach, replaced Kliff Kingsbury, who was the team's OC in 2025. When it comes to running the huddle, Daniels said he hasn't decided whether he will stand up, hunch over, or take a knee when huddling.
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