Commanders franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured on the final play of the first half. As team medical personnel worked on his dislocated left elbow, Daniels’ teammates were seen on the Fox broadcast walking by him toward the locker room.
Commanders players pushed back against the social media narrative that they abandoned their quarterback.
“It’s bullshit what people are saying,” Washington left tackle Brandon Coleman said, via John Keim of ESPN. “Jay’s our guy, and he’s been our guy. There’s no malice behind it.”
Many players stayed on the sideline watching Daniels being attended to, per Keim, and many returned to his side after trainers popped Daniels’ elbow back in place.
Coach Dan Quinn said what actually happened was the “opposite” of the narrative that grew from Fox’s short clip.
“When the half is over, the referees are saying, ‘Man, I can’t delay the half. They can’t stay on the field,’ The players were like, ‘No, we want to stay,’” Quinn said. “So it’s just the opposite of that. They were gutted. They love this guy. So halftime was hard and emotional in that space.”
Coleman and lineman Josh Conerly Jr. were the last players to leave for the locker room, along with Quinn and backup quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Athan Kaliakmanis.
“All that stuff is ridiculous,” tight end Ben Sinnott said. “As far as the love and brotherhood we have for Jayden, it’s really strong. We’ve seen how hard he worked to get to where he’s been.
“It was a weird situation. People were trying to figure out what’s going on, and they wanted to give the trainers space to do it. You don’t want to crowd the guy. Obviously, guys are taking a step back and giving him space, praying, and we all came back.
“All that stuff is nonsense.”
