Jayden Daniels Injury Update: The Commanders QB will be the game-time decision for the Week 8 game against the Bears

Commanders quarterback and Offensive Rookie of the Year standout Jayden Daniels will practice with the Chicago Bears before kickoff Sunday before his status is made official.

Sources have expressed doubts about Daniels' availability all week due to his rib injury, although the No. 2 overall pick participated in a limited practice Friday. Daniels participated in team drills on Friday but did not do any individual drills. The commanders want to ensure that he can play dynamically as usual while protecting himself from further injury if he plays. This decision will be made in the pre-pre-workout portion of the afternoon before the inactives are announced.

Marcus Mariota, also a former No. 2 overall pick and Heisman winner, will start for the Commanders should Daniels be unable to have Jeff Driskel as his backup. The Commanders did not sign Sam Hartman from the practice squad on Saturday, which would have been a sign that Daniels would not play since no team has four game-day quarterbacks. It's unlikely the Commanders would make Daniels the third emergency quarterback; If he can play at all, he would start.

Daniels suffered a rib injury on his first play from scrimmage against the Carolina Panthers last week. His 46-yard run ended with a tackle, during which the injury occurred. He finished the series but left the game and did not return.

The Bears operated this week as if Mariota was the likely starter. Sources say they view the offense as similar regardless of quarterback, although Daniels offers a more dynamic option with both his feet and legs.

The Commanders put a ton of Mariota on tape in Kliff Kingsbury's system for the Bears this week. Starting in the third quarter, Mariota improved by at least 28 points, collected 10 dropbacks and went 8-for-9 for 86 yards.

If Mariota starts, he would be at least the 44th different starting quarterback in the league this year. That's on pace to break the 2022 record of 69 starting quarterbacks.

One reason for the increased number of starters was the game in which Daniels was injured. The league is seeing an all-time high in scrambles around quarterbacks – a rate of 5.9 percent through Week 7, with a previous high of 3,519 scramble yards.