11:25am: ESPN’s Molly McGrath (via colleague Ian Rapoport) reports Mariota aggravated this preseason’s MCL injury and is expected to miss time. Although Kaliakmanis has had a couple of highlights in relief of Mariota, it is fair to expect the Commanders to look for outside help in the coming days.
10:23am: The Commanders are down to their third-string quarterback. Marcus Mariota, filling in for injured QB1 Jayden Daniels, exited Washington’s Week 4 contest against the Colts in the first quarter due to a knee injury. Initially designated as questionable to return, Mariota was ruled out for the remainder of the game at halftime. Seventh-round rookie Athan Kaliakmanis took the reins following Mariota’s departure.
As Tashan Reed of the Washington Post observes, Mariota injured his right knee. He sustained an MCL sprain in the same knee during the Commanders’ preseason opener, which forced him to miss the rest of the club’s exhibition slate and which briefly put his Week 1 availability in doubt.
However, the coveted backup passer dressed for Week 1, replaced Daniels in Week 2 when the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year suffered a dislocated elbow, and led the Commanders to a stirring upset over the Seahawks in Week 3 (their first victory of the season). Prior to his Week 4 exit, Washington was moving the ball well on offense, although the Mariota-led unit had to settle for short field goals following two trips to the red zone.
Washington hopes to have Daniels back in action in Week 5, which would obviously be a welcome development regardless of Mariota’s status. But The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala wonders whether the Commanders will seek an outside addition to their QB room if Mariota is forced to miss time. Other than Daniels and his own troubling injury history, the only passers on the team are Kaliakmanis and practice squadder Sam Hartman, a former UDFA who has never seen regular season action and who was not promoted for Sunday’s contest. The Commanders’ emergency QB behind Kaliakmanis is tight end Colson Yankoff.
