Commanders HC Dan Quinn says team will know when Jayden Daniels is ready to start

If you’re waiting for the Commanders to name Jayden Daniels as their starting quarterback, it may be a moment. Or an entire training camp.

Washington veterans joined the rookies at training camp Tuesday. New Commanders coach Dan Quinn acknowledged the obvious — Daniels, the No. 2 pick of the NFL Draft and the Heisman winner will be their guy. But he has no idea when that will be.

“It’s not a secret, but it is a journey and a process,” Quinn told reporters in his opening media availability. “So, as we’re going, when he’s ready, we’ll know, and when he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

And there’s more to the story. Quinn also isn’t sure how he’ll divide the reps in camp. The Commanders also have Marcus Mariota on the roster. Mariota and Daniels share similar resumes, to an extent. Mariota won a Heisman as he dazzled at Oregon a decade ago. He also was the second overall pick of the 2015 draft, with the Titans taking him right after the Bucs selected Jameis Winston.

Mariota was last a full-time starter in 2022, when he played for the Falcons. And before that, it was 2019. He likely won’t be a challenge to Daniels. The Commanders also have NFL journeyman Jeff Driskel. They also signed former Notre Dame star Sam Hartman as an undrafted free agent.

Quinn said competition will dictate how the Commanders divide up the QB reps in practice, then in preseason games. Washington opens its preseasons schedule Aug. 10 against the Jets.

“As far as the reps go, obviously with (Daniels) and Marcus and moving around, there’ll be certain days that feature more of another,” Quinn said. “But I’m glad that you brought it up. It’s certainly not a secret. It’s a journey and a process.

“Through practices, through scrimmages and preseason games all the way down, that’s where the journey will take us. And then — not trying to hold back the info, but when we know, we’ll say it.”

No doubt, this is a rebuilding year for the Commanders. Washington hired Quinn, the former Cowboys defensive coordinator, to take over the team. Kliff Kingsbury, who used to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, is the new offensive coordinator. Kingsbury seems to be the perfect choice to work with a quarterback like Daniels. After all, Kingsbury, a former quarterback, excels at developing dual-threat quarterbacks and game planning for them. He coached Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M and Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech. He also had Kyler Murray with the Cardinals. Then last season, he worked with Caleb Williams at USC.

So the Commanders aren’t keeping secrets in regards to Daniels. It’s a matter of when they make it official.