Looking back at the Week 2 NFL games in our second recalibration of the season…
Jayden Daniels’ injury creates some contract extension apprehension next offseason
The worst fear associated with Jayden Daniels the draft prospect is starting to materialize as a reality for Jayden Daniels the NFL player.
That’s what I thought when I saw Daniels dislocate his left elbow for the second straight season on Sunday. A moment that occurred on a garden-variety non-contact play. An offensive lineman stepped on his foot, he stumbled and instinctively tried to brace himself with the same left arm that he injured in 2025. The limb bent into a jarring angle for the viewing audience, leaving Tom Brady to blurt out “Oh shit” on a nationally televised broadcast.
And just like that, a world of potential problems opened for Daniels and the Washington Commanders’ future.
This is the insensitive but necessary part of analyzing this situation. Because while Daniels’ arm is going to eventually heal, the concern over his long-term viability may not. As with Tua Tagovailoa with the Miami Dolphins and Kyler Murray with the Arizona Cardinals — and a litany of other quarterbacks who had their paths altered by physical punishment — the health of Daniels is now going to become a focal point of his career. When he moves forward from this, every big hit will be accompanied by breath-holding and a nagging question.
Is he going to get up from this?
It’s a cruel plight. But also one that traces all the way back to his draft evaluation, when Daniels’ frame and penchant for taking punishment gave some evaluators pause. I distinctly remember a conversation with an AFC personnel man at the 2024 combine, when Daniels was materializing as a top-five pick. The evaluator noted Daniels’ slender build as one that doesn’t hold up for QBs at the NFL level. Daniels was a shade over 6-foot-3 and weighed in at 210 pounds.
“There’s definitely durability risk,” he said. “He can get stronger, but I don’t think his frame is going to change much.”
When the Commanders drafted Daniels, that durability concern — and Daniels taking big hits in college — was one of the first things general manager Adam Peters was asked to address.
“I think with any quarterback, not just Jayden, you want to tell them to get down, not take the hit,” Peters said. “If that’s your biggest problem with somebody, then it’s a pretty good deal there. And so, we’ll encourage him to not take those hits. But he is so competitive, he is so tough. He got up every time. No questions about his toughness or his durability. I think wanting him to play 17 to 20-plus games every year, we want to make sure he takes care of his body and we know he will.”
That was April 25 of 2024. Flash forward 879 days, and now there have to be some questions about Daniels’ durability.
It’s going to be a complicated part of the mathematics that lie ahead, too. Because some decisions are coming. With a fully healthy season and a good performance, it was a virtual certainty that Daniels was going to be signed to a contract extension when he becomes eligible for one in the coming offseason. Now? Peters has to at least pause and consider waiting for an additional year to see if Daniels can get through 2027 without issues.
Even with the elbow injury, I expect Washington will pick up the fifth-year option on Daniels’ rookie deal. The Commanders have to make that commitment by May, which will lock in Daniels for the 2028 season at a projected guaranteed salary of $43.763 million. But the long-term extension is suddenly looking like a more precarious dilemma. Just over two years ago, the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year $212-million extension, despite concussion worries and a habit of taking punishment. The following season, he missed six games after suffering another concussion and a hip injury. His play then steadily declined in 2025, leading Miami to cut him after paying out nearly $100 million of the extension.
That’s a mistake that resonated throughout the league. And now it will certainly echo in Peters’ mind when it comes to Daniels, too. Not only at the contract table, but also in terms of when Daniels can play and protect himself again.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a very troubling 0-2 team
The Chargers’ start is concerning. But the offensive ineptitude has been shocking.
When I went through training camp, there was palpable excitement throughout the organization over the addition of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. He seemed to be challenging quarterback Justin Herbert in a healthy way, and there was significant anticipation of a more creative scheme. McDaniel was expected to unlock Herbert’s next level and amp up the juice in the running game. Through two losses — against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders — the Chargers have produced 28 points. Not counting the Los Angeles Rams, who play their second game tonight, only the Miami Dolphins (26), Pittsburgh Steelers (23) and Atlanta Falcons (16) have scored fewer points.
Against the Raiders, the Chargers fumbled six times — six! — and Herbert threw two interceptions. The only thing preventing total catastrophe was Los Angeles recovering five of those fumbles. The timing looks off (see the critical 3rd-and-1 play where the ball was snapped into a motioning Tre Harris), Herbert lacks rhythm and the offensive line is already struggling with injuries. You can see the disruption caused by the season-ending knee injury to starting center Tyler Biadasz, which has rippled into problems at the guard spot.
When I went through another AFC West team’s training camp, I spent some time with a coach who knows McDaniel well. And he was already skeptical of the personality and schematic partnership. He noted some of the run-game identity differences between Harbaugh and McDaniel and questioned how they’d mesh. And he opined that if the offense faltered, Harbaugh wouldn’t wait long to start meddling with the scheme and calls. But he also added that McDaniel has the type of disposition to adapt and succeed if he’s given the time.
“Mike navigated it with Kyle Shanahan and it worked out,” he said. “He’s got the right temperament.”
That “figuring it out” process can’t begin fast enough. The Chargers’ next nine games feature eight 2025 playoff teams. Five of those eight games are on the road. To put it simply, Weeks 1 and 2 should have been home tune-ups. Instead, both became wake-ups.
With Michael Penix Jr. returning, Falcons GM Ian Cunningham begins to sift his 2027 QB options
Michael Penix Jr. is officially back, with the Falcons naming him the starter for Thursday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Unless he walks through that door soon with a pair of bionic knees and a cape, it feels like Atlanta is almost certainly headed for a quarterback reset this offseason.
That underscores the size of the swing and miss that occurred when the franchise drafted Penix Jr. No. 8 overall in the 2024 draft after signing Kirk Cousins to a deal that would pay out $100 million for 22 starts. It seems we’ll be adding Tua Tagovailoa to that pile after this season, too. Now the schedule is looking daunting and the potential to end up with the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft seems plausible if not likely.
So what happens in Atlanta?
Well, the bad news is that the Falcons may not be favored to win a game the rest of the season. The good news is that this is a great year to be terrible and need a franchise quarterback, with an expected bumper crop in the 2027 draft.
But the best news?
Atlanta’s general manager, Ian Cunningham, was part of two previous personnel departments that navigated their quarterback needs successfully. First with the Philadelphia Eagles, when the franchise unexpectedly took Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft, and then with the Chicago Bears when they selected Caleb Williams No. 1 overall in 2024. Dating all the way back to his start with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, Cunningham has seen a lot of success in personnel departments. He’s also got the experience of a front-row seat for navigating a top pick in an ocean of options, as well as transitioning out of the quarterback abyss.
Given the quarterback decisions that unfolded when Cunningham was with the Eagles and Bears, I think Penix gets an authentic audition to meaningfully lock up the starting job. But Cunningham will also be simultaneously working on how to replace him if that doesn’t happen. One part of Cunningham’s past that I’d pay particularly close attention to: The Bears passing on taking a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL draft and then pivoting away from Justin Fields and selecting Williams the following year.
That experience with the Bears could make Cunningham a bit of a wild card if Penix Jr. has a solid season and Atlanta still ends up with a top pick in the draft. He was alongside Bears general manager Ryan Poles when Chicago decided to trade out of the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft — choosing instead to stack more draft capital and build out the roster around Fields. Then Cunningham played a significant role in the evaluation process of Williams one year later, setting up a transition at the quarterback spot that changed Chicago’s future.
Looking back, it wasn’t particularly bold to choose to assess Fields for another season in 2023. And swapping Fields out for Williams in 2024 was a bit of a no-brainer. But seeing the results — how Chicago’s roster was strengthened in the process — gives Cunningham first-hand experience at keeping options on the table. It’s entirely possible that Penix Jr. plays well enough to become the Falcons’ version of Justin Fields and land another look in 2027. And it’s possible that Cunningham lands the No. 1 pick and trades out of it, choosing to rebuild across the roster with additional assets.
There’s no guarantee this ends up being a linear build for the Falcons — even with so many attractive quarterback options expected to be in the draft.
Other odds and ends…
I’ve touched on the Marvin Harrison Jr. situation once already since training camp, but it already feels appropriate to revisit it. Through two games, Harrison Jr. has contributed almost nothing to the offense: one catch for 33 yards, with only four targets on 62 routes. He also has a drop. That’s a staggering start for a player who was considered a once-in-a-generation wideout prospect in the 2024 draft. Given this start — and the reality that Harrison Jr. seems to have been regressing since his rookie season — it’s fair to wonder if he’s going to be in Arizona beyond this season.
Charles Robinson@CharlesRobinson#Cardinals wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. now has 4 targets and 1 catch for 33 yards through two games. I just keep thinking about this quote from Mike LaFleur when I went through Arizona during camp. Full piece here: nflbluebook.com/p/arizona-card…
1:45 AM · Sep 21, 2026 · 139K Views15 Replies · 27 Reposts · 362 LikesIf the Cardinals reach the trade deadline and he’s not a bigger factor in the offense, it might be Arizona’s last chance to get anything out of him on the trade market. Part of the complication is the May deadline for exercising the fifth-year option in Harrison Jr.’s rookie contract. That option is currently projected at $18.968 million for the 2028 season. Given his production thus far, I don’t see the Cardinals exercising that option without some kind of dramatic rebound through the rest of this season. But I also don’t think another team would pick up that option under the current circumstances, either. That means if you’re a team interested in acquiring Harrison Jr., you’re doing it knowing it’s on a “show me” basis through the 2027 season. And as we’ve seen in past trades, players under a “show me” rental status don’t draw much on the market. The one deal I’d look at? The George Pickens trade package. The Pittsburgh Steelers sent Pickens and a sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for a third-round and fifth-round pick in return.
Todd Monken may be what the Cleveland Browns need. After the brutal 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, there was an assembly line of reasons to believe the Browns were on their way to lying down against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Instead, the opposite happened. Cleveland’s defense played significantly better. The offense was more vertical. Quarterback Deshaun Watson looked like he was playing with some confidence. And after a 23-19 win that included enduring more than two hours of a rain delay, Monken was about as authentic as any coach can be. First in a fiery podium appearance where he slapped back at former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin for making a “the Browns is the Browns” comment, then in an emotional speech to the locker room about winning.
Charles Robinson@CharlesRobinsonAye, this seems like exactly what the #Browns need. Todd Monken has some of that Bruce Arians talk in him.
2:02 AM · Sep 21, 2026 · 18.7K Views1 Reply · 9 Reposts · 71 LikesI don’t know if this is going to work out with Monken and the Browns or not. But at some points in time, someone has to stand up for the team — and by extension, the city of Cleveland. I spent some time with Monken in training camp, and there are two coaches he reminds me of when it comes to his personality traits: the Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell and former NFL coach Bruce Arians. Both are emotional, blunt and authentic guys. Both connect with their locker rooms in very deep ways. And both aren’t afraid to fight back when they feel like it’s necessary. One thing in particular strikes me. Part of the Lions’ turnaround was facilitated by Campbell being thankful for the coaching opportunity and buying into the city of Detroit. I sense some of that with Monken. And I think that’s great for Cleveland.
I didn’t think it was that big of a deal when Aaron Rodgers said he needs to do a better job of letting the coaches know what plays are working. Veteran quarterbacks have a dialogue with offensive coaches about plays. It happens. Rodgers saying it out loud only seems notable because of his past tug-of-war with McCarthy and a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots that was embarrassing. But this wasn’t anything close to the level of previous issues. And given what the offense has looked like through two weeks, Rodgers is right to say something.
93.7 The Fan@937theFan👀 Aaron Rodgers says he needs to do a better job of letting Mike McCarthy & the #Steelers coaches know what has a better chance of working
8:50 PM · Sep 20, 2026 · 1.23M Views52 Replies · 10 Reposts · 152 LikesA few quick thoughts to close out. … We’ll see how Malik Willis rounds into form, but I don’t think the Dolphins can pass on an elite QB if they end up with the No. 1 pick in the draft. The surrounding pieces aren’t great, but he looks like a bridge quarterback. … When I went through the Carolina Panthers’ training camp, the coaching staff and front office said that Bryce Young’s “level up” season was loading. So far, they look right. … It’s only two games, but Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek made a lot of moves that are showing up on the field through two games. The Raiders may be real, folks. … Before hitting the panic button on the Houston Texans, remember they started last season 0-3, having scored only 38 points in those three losses. They rounded into form and finished as a strong 12-5 playoff team. … Two other franchises started 0-2 and made the playoffs — the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. I’m willing to bet multiple teams that are sitting at 0-2 right now will straighten it out and make it to the postseason.
That’s it for this week’s recalibration. As always, plenty more to come.