Commanders HC Dan Quinn on QB Jayden Daniels: 'We'll know' when he's ready to start

Like art, personal growth or sourdough bread, the development timetable for quarterbacks is not a fixed, predetermined process.

That’s also the gist of the message coming out of Washington Commanders training camp when it comes to when first-round quarterback Jayden Daniels will be named the team’s starter.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft might be the overwhelming favorite to be Washington’s starting QB Week 1 at Tampa Bay, but the Commanders’ new brass has said it won’t commit to anyone just yet — or to a specific timeline for when that decision will be made.

“It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn told reporters on Tuesday. “So, as we’re going, when he’s ready, we’ll know, and when he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

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Quinn has stuck with his message from mid-June that he was not ready to name a starting quarterback.

Daniels kept with the theme at the time, saying he’s not currently a star QB.

The one man apparently standing between Daniels and the starting job is Marcus Mariota, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million for 2024. Although Mariota started 13 games for the Falcons in 2022 before being benched, he’s been a backup who hasn’t started a game in three of the past four seasons.

If Quinn has a plan for divvying up the reps in practice and preseason, he’s not ready to reveal those specifics. But the coach said that performance will dictate who the top man is to start this coming season.

“As far as the reps go, obviously with him and Marcus and moving around, there’ll be certain days that feature more of another,” Quinn said on Tuesday. “But I’m glad that you brought it up. It’s certainly not a secret. It’s a journey and a process.

“Through practices, through scrimmages and preseason games all the way down, that’s where the journey will take us. And then — not trying to hold back the info, but when we know, we’ll say it.”

The Commanders play at the Jets (Aug. 10), at the Dolphins (Aug. 17) and vs. the Patriots (Aug. 25) during the preseason, and Washington also will have joint practices in Miami and at New York prior to the first two preseason games.