One hundred and two days after the Chicago Bears announced their decision, the Washington Commanders announced theirs.
Like first-round draft pick Caleb Williams in Chicago, second-round pick Jayden Daniels was given the nod Monday as the Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback for 2024.
The big difference in timing raises the question: When should teams inform their rosters?
It’s easy to lean toward one camp or the other, believing new quarterbacks should be named immediately or defending the time allotted for a young prospect to learn.
The reality, as coaches and league executives have told Yahoo Sports in recent weeks, is that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for integrating a rookie quarterback.
There is no categorically “correct” method.
“On a macro level, it depends on the person and the situation,” one NFC general manager told Yahoo Sports. “And on a micro level, it still depends on the person and the situation, but the micro is the intertwined complexities between the two.”
“Most cases where you do really difficult things are similar.”
If the Commanders’ best option was to consider their macro and micro circumstances, they deserve credit for the approach they took upon Monday’s announcement that Daniels had earned their starting quarterback role.
The alternative, those who know him will tell you, does not suit him.
Why Jayden Daniels Didn’t Expect Early Departure Announcement
Daniels’ work ethic has become so central to his personality that he may not even realize its full extent.
Of course, LSU’s Heisman Trophy winner became famous for arriving at the school so early that coaches had to change his fingerprint access.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters admired the story so much that when all the other rookies were given key chains by team personnel, Quinn and Peters kept Daniels’s to give it to him directly and noted that his access was “24 hours.”
Yet Daniels’ response to Quinn handing him the proverbial keys this week is rather surprising.
Who did he call first after Quinn came into the quarterback room to tell him he had earned the starting job?
“Nobody really,” he told reporters at a news conference Monday. “We had meetings, so I didn’t get to do any of that. I’m pretty sure my phone is blowing up right now.”
The decision not to celebrate immediately wasn’t a big deal, but it reflects why the Commanders believe in Daniels and why the longer path to starting quarterback suits him.
Daniels didn’t look at his 40 touchdowns and four interceptions last season and believe it was a ticket to start in the NFL, instead insisting Monday that “what I did in college doesn’t matter.”
He didn’t take his 12-of-15 rushing for 123 yards in two preseason games as a sign he was destined to lead September squads, nor his rushing touchdown as a sign he deserved to be left behind…
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