Commanders vs. Bears Week 8 inactive

Jayden Daniels will start at quarterback for the Washington Commanders during their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears.

Daniels was listed as questionable Friday with a rib injury after a practice in which coach Dan Quinn said the team “really pushed” the rookie to see if he was ready. He was not on the field during the media-open portion of practice, but came onto the field to complete team drills. Quinn said the team needed 48 hours to assess how the quarterback was feeling after Friday's workload. It appears Daniels has responded well and will be ready to lead the Commanders' offense against the Bears' top-five defense.

On Friday, the Commanders discussed the game plan with Daniels, walking him and the offense through “the whole thing, all parts of the field.” Over the next two days, the team will continue its process to determine whether Daniels can be fit on Sunday.

“We will make the best decision for him and the team,” Quinn said. “If he can’t go, we definitely have full confidence in Marcus (Mariota).”

Quinn said Wednesday that Daniels is “almost there” in terms of being on the practice field, which is the next step in Daniels' recovery process. The team also wanted to be careful about letting him participate in team activities again outside of meetings, wanting to ensure that “he can fully express himself and do all the things that he does that make him so unique and special.” as Quinn put it.

Daniels wasn't initially on the field when the rest of the team came out for stretching Friday morning. Quinn said Daniels did additional strength and conditioning exercises during that time before sending him onto the field for team drills.

When asked if Daniels experienced any limitations during this period of training, Quinn replied: “Actually the opposite is the case in certain things, but also within the game plan.

Daniels said “I feel good” as he addressed the media outside the Commanders' locker room and that he was undergoing treatment so he would have a chance to get on the field and “be confident.” He added that while the injury feels better compared to Sunday, he still has “a few points I need to accomplish” before the team can get him on the field.

“Obviously they wouldn’t put me in a position where they wouldn’t be comfortable,” Daniels said. “I don’t want to find myself in this predicament for my future either.”

Now fit for today's 4:25 p.m. kickoff, Daniels will look to get the Commanders to a 6-2 record for the first time since 2008 against No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams.

The Commanders have declared the following players inactive for their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears.

• #16 QB Jeff Driskel (Emergency QB)
• #22 S Darrick Forrest
• No. 41 TE Colson Yankoff
• No. 45 LB Dominique Hampton
• #74 T Brandon Coleman