Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a left elbow dislocation when he was sacked by Drake Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks. Here's what that means.
Bruce Y. Lee, M.D., MBA, covers health, medicine, wellness and scienceThe medical staff attends to Jayden Daniels #5 of the Washington Commanders after his left elbow got dislocated during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks on November 02, 2025 in Landover, Maryland.
Put elbow dislocation on the list of things that you don’t want to see, both figuratively and literally. Figuratively, no one should want any player to suffer such a significant injury like Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels did in the Commanders 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night. But, literally, it was downright nauseating to actually watch Daniels’ left elbow bend so gruesomely when Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas sacked him with 7 minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the game. The injury was so jarring it left both Commanders and Seahawks kneeling on the field and praying for Daniels. The injury was in the non-throwing arm of the right-handed Daniels. But as will be explained later, Daniels won’t be right until his left arm is all fixed, healed and ready. An X-ray following the game did show no fractures in Daniels left arm bones. But an X-ray is not gong to offer the detailed look at the elbow joint and the surrounding structures that magnetic resonance imaging will. So, everyone will be left guessing about Daniels’ left elbow until the results of the MRI that Daniels underwent on Monday become available. They will show the true extent of what may be damaged, what treatment may be needed and how many games Daniels may end up missing.To understand what’s meant by an elbow dislocation, let’s review the anatomy of an elbow. Your elbow joint is the coming together of three bones: the humerus that runs through your upper arm and the radius and ulna that run through your forearm. You can see them in the following diagram of an elbow:Normally, you can bend your elbow to the point that you can kiss your fist—if that’s what you want to do—and extend it to the point that your arm is fairly straight so that you point out someone else kissing his or her fist.A dislocated elbow is when the radius or ulna gets forced out of place so that it no longer sits in its normal position in the joint with the humerus. Such an injury is far from humorous and instead can be very painful. With things literally out of joint, you can no longer bend or extend your elbow to the same degree. In fact, you may not even be able to move your elbow.An elbow dislocation is considered complete when the radius or ulna has completely moved out of the elbow joint. The bones are, thus, totally separated. This is known as a luxation if you want to use more fancy medical language that sort of rhymes with an expletive you might utter when this happens. A partial elbow dislocation, otherwise known as an elbow subluxation, is where the radius and ulnar remain at least partly in the joint, still in contact with the humerus. An elbow dislocation can also be simple, complex or severe. A simple dislocation is where the only thing that may be damaged are the ligaments, tendons and soft tissue around them. No bones are broken in any way. Things get complex when the bones are fractured. And then dislocation is severe if the nerves or blood vessels are damaged too. This is where the blood flow to the forearm may be at risk. If the forearm can’t get enough blood, tissue may start to die, which could lead to an amputation, which obviously would be severely bad.The most common way to dislocate your elbow is to fall on your outstretched hand. When your hand hits the ground, it send a force up through the elbow. Your forearm may rotate simultaneously as well. This twisty upward force can then turn the radius or ulnar right out of the elbow socket. Another way you might dislocate your elbow is in a car accident when you brace yourself against the steering wheel or dashboard. The resulting force of impact can then run through your elbow too. This can push your forearms backwards and out of the elbow joints.The most urgent thing to do when your elbow is dislocated is to get the bones back into their normal position and alignment. This is called reduction. The longer your elbow stays dislocated, the greater the risk of injury to the different structures in and around the joint. In most cases, a properly trained doctor can carefully slip the bones back in place by performing some kind of a reduction maneuver. Don’t just get anyone to do this, and certinaly don’t try it yourself. You could end up causing even more damage. If such reduction maneuvers somehow don’t work, surgery may be necessary. Once the bones are back in position, you’ll need a splint or sling to hold your elbow still until all the structures have had a chance to heal. Typically, with a simple elbow location, you should keep the joint immobilized for at least one to three weeks. If ligaments or tendons are torn, this immobilization may need to be longer. Once your doctor deems your joint safe to move again, the next step is physical therapy and exercises to gradually regain your full range of motion and strengthen the muscles around the joint. The longer your elbow was immobilized, the longer it may take to get everything back in working condition. Surgical repair may be necessary if the ligaments or tendons are torn substantially or the bones are fractured. This can stretch the recovery time out to three to six months. If Daniels does require surgery, his season could be over.Daniels will need his non-throwing arm in the right condition to play. For example, here he uses his left arm to fend off Drake Thomas #42 of the Seattle Seahawks. The left elbow is in non-throwing arm of the right-handed Daniels. But before you ask, why can’t Daniels just return with one arm, keep in mind the important role the non-throwing arm plays in maintaining balance, stabilizing the upper body and facilitating the quarterbacks throwing frame and motion in general. Plus, Daniels will have to handle the snap with both hands and may need his non-throwing arm to brace himself when he gets tackled and falls. No, for Daniels to return he needs to be well-armed, so to speak. And that means both arms being in playing condition.
Jayden Daniels Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels Arm Jayden Daniels Status Commanders QB Elbow Dislocation Elbow Jordan Daniels Elbow Seattle Seahawks
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