Before Jayden Daniels, there was Robert Griffin III.
RG3 was supposed to be Washington's QB savior after his selection No. 2 overall in 2012. And for a stretch, he looked like he would be.
But then Griffin was played through an injury, got hurt worse, and was never the same.
"That's been mentioned in the building" this week in Washington, reports NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
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That's because the new quarterback savior, Jayden Daniels, is dealing with a knee sprain.
Daniels has been ruled out for Week 3. Marcus Mariota will start. The Commanders aren't taking any chances.
The building has been essentially cleaned out in the decade-plus since Griffin's time, but the shadow of that "what if" still looms.
The Commanders know Daniels is their franchise for years to come. And so they know that a Week 3 game against the Raiders doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of it all.
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It doesn't mean Daniels will avoid injuries. He takes a ton of hits, and he's not a big dude.
But he's also a transcendent talent, the Rookie of the Year, already one of the most accurate passers in football.
And so the Commanders will be patient and wait for healing, because they can't afford to get it wrong with Daniels.
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