It's easy to understand why some Washington commanders fans are worried. A young, energetic defenseman becomes Offensive Rookie of the Year, energizes the franchise, and then suffers a serious injury against Seattle Seahawks — on almost the same patch of grass where Robert Griffin III's career-changing moment occurred more than a decade ago. But Griffin doesn't believe history is repeating itself when it comes to Jayden Daniels.
The parallels are striking: the same stadium, the same opponent, even the same baseline and yard line, only on opposite ends of the field. Jayden Daniels' dislocated elbow at 9 weeks brought back memories. However, Griffin was quick to object, calling these comparisons a mere coincidence.
“Nope,” Griffin talked about this on his podcast.. “I think positively. I believe he will bounce back if given enough time to fully recover. “Everyone keeps mentioning me on social media, going into all these diatribes about how they compare my situation to Jayden Daniels, but in reality they are not even close to the same.”
Griffin, who won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012, suffered a series of right knee injuries that season, starting with a sprained LCL after a direct hit Baltimore Ravens lineman Many at 14 weeks. Although he only missed one game, the injury continued into the postseason. In an NFC game against Seattle, Griffin's knee buckled on a botched snap and he collapsed on the turf. The injury—a torn ACL and LCL that required reconstructive surgery—effectively marked the beginning of the end for one of the most promising rookie campaigns in league history.
Daniels, on the other hand, appears to have avoided such long-term failure. The 24-year-old dislocated his left elbow during Washington's 38-14 loss to the Seahawks but avoided ligament damage and did not require surgery. The Chiefs plan to re-evaluate him after Week 12 rather than place him on injured reserve, a scenario that represents the best outcome for a scary-looking injury.
Griffin described Washington's environment as one of the biggest differences between his experience and Daniels'.
“There is no infighting in this organization,” Griffin said. “The head coach and the owner don't argue about who they want the quarterback to be, how they want the offense to be run, and who should be in charge.”
Under new owner Josh Harris, general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn, Washington's leadership structure is much more unified than it was under Griffin. The front office also created a veteran support system around Daniels, including offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, receiver Terry McLaurintight end Zach Ertz and midfielder Bobby Wagner — creating the kind of stability that Griffin rarely enjoyed.
“I can understand the anxiety and the trauma and how it's causing Washington fans to have post-traumatic stress disorder because of what happened in 2012 and 2013,” Griffin said. “But Jayden Daniels’ story is not like mine.”
