Jayden Daniels Injury Update for Week 14: Faith in 5 With the Fantasy Football Playoffs on the Line?

It hasn’t been the idyllic sophomore season for Jayden Daniels, especially coming off a 2024 season when he passed for 3,568 yards and 25 TDs, then ran for 891 yards and 6 more scores. And during the fantasy playoffs he was spectacular, posting top-5 finishes in Weeks 16 and 17 while averaging 34.6 fantasy points per game. Basically, if you had Daniels, you likely won your fantasy championship.

Then came this season, with the expectations and the rising ADP that had him going by round 3 in most fantasy drafts. Unfortunately, Daniels’ 2025 season has been torpedoed by injuries to his lower leg and hamstring, and most recently a dislocation to his left (non-throwing) elbow in Week 9 of a game the Commanders would eventually be blown out 38-14 against the Seahawks.

Talk was that Daniels had likely taken his last snap of the 2025 season. With the Commanders out of the playoff hunt, did it make sense to bring him back and risk further injury? Well, one thing we know about football players is that their mentality is not to sit, so Daniels attacked his rehab and just five weeks after his season looked over he is back as the Commanders’ starting quarterback as they travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings.

Jayden Daniels Week 14 Fantasy Football Outlook

Some would wonder why Daniels would come back with the Commanders at 3-9. Well, it might come down to the fact that this is still just his second NFL season and he’s played only six games in 2025. So many veteran quarterbacks talk about the value of live game reps to their own personal development, that these next few games offer Daniels the opportunity to further improve his game for 2026 and beyond.

He’s also getting his full arsenal of offensive weapons in full health at his disposal for the first time this season. Remember, Terry McLaurin missed a large chunk of training camp, so Daniels getting to work with his WR1 in an NFL game is very important. But what will it look like?

As we saw with Joe Burrow last week, it could be shaking off some rust at the beginning, and the Vikings are sixth in the league allowing 14.5 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. He’ll be feeling some pressure, as the Vikings are fifth in the league in quarterback knockdown rate (10.8%), and they have allowed just one passing TD in the past four games. There were no slouches in that run, as the Vikings faced Lamar Jackson, Jordan Love, Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold over those games.

Terry McLaurin had a triumphant return to the lineup last week coming off a quad injury, drawing 14 targets and turning them into 7-96-1. Expect Daniels to take some shots with McLaurin, and to deploy Deebo Samuel underneath on occasion to utilize his YAC ability. Amon-Ra St. Brown went for 97 yards on 9 receptions in Week 9, so the Vikings are not impenetrable on defense.

Don’t expect many, if any, designed runs from Daniels, as the Commanders staff may try to keep him from seeing unnecessary contact. Still, as we saw with Jaxson Dart last week, quarterbacks with running in their DNA will take off if the play breaks down.

The game being indoors will help make it an even playing field, and just by him stepping on the field Daniels is automatically the best QB in this contest. That says something about J.J. McCarthy, who’s coming back from a concussion, but also Daniels’ decorated, though limited, track record.

Start Daniels or Sit Him?

If you have, Daniels he’s our consensus QB20 in our rankings, so he’s not an automatic start. Though if you’ve held onto him this long in single-QB leagues, he may still be your best option. In superflex leagues, don’t even think about sitting him.

Jayden Daniels Injury Update for Week 14: Faith in 5 With the Fantasy Football Playoffs on the Line?

Jayden Daniels Week 14 Fantasy Football Outlook

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Start Daniels or Sit Him?

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