HERTFORDSHIRE, England - Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, causing him to miss a second consecutive game because of a dislocated left elbow.
Marcus Mariota will make a second consecutive start. Meanwhile, the Commanders remain optimistic that Daniels will return soon -- possibly in Week 5 vs. the Giants.
The Commanders did receive good news Friday with the return of tight end Chig Okonkwo and linebacker Frankie Luvu. Both players missed the last two games with a hamstring and groin injury, respectively.
Daniels was a limited participant in practice all week, wearing a brace that leaves his non-throwing elbow slightly bent. He took part in individual drills, which included footwork portions as well as other times needing to rotate his body and throw.
He said Thursday that he had no problems when doing basic quarterback moves that involve his left arm, whether taking snaps from center or handing off, and that he wasn't concerned with re-injuring his elbow, saying the brace is there to prevent that from happening.
Daniels dislocated his elbow for the second time in a year during a Week 2 loss at Dallas on the final play of the first half. His left foot was stepped on as he backed away from center; Daniels stumbled back and tried to brace his fall with his left arm.
He first dislocated the elbow last season in Week 9, causing him to miss four games. He re-aggravated it upon his return and the Commanders decided to shut him down for the rest of the season.
Mariota completed 19 of 31 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's 33-31 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Luvu's return comes at a good time after the Commanders had lost two backup inside linebackers to injuries. Leo Chenal fractured his neck last week and is out for the season, while Jordan Magee was placed on injured reserve after the opener and won't be eligible to return until Week 6.
Because of the injuries, backup Kain Medrano played his first defensive snaps and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown vs. Seattle.
Rookie Sonny Styles' start also helped lessen the impact of those losses. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording an interception, a forced fumble and had multiple passes defensed vs. the Seahawks.
Okonkwo, who was signed to a three-year deal in the offseason with the hope of providing more explosive plays at tight end, caught two passes for 16 yards in the opener.
Washington will play minus two other starters: guard Sam Cosmi (concussion) and safety Nick Cross (internal injury) did not make the trip to London.