Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had his first welcome to the NFL moment during Thursday’s joint practice against the New York Jets.
Daniels wasn’t bad by any stretch during the practice, but Washington’s offense had problems moving the ball against New York’s talented defense during 11-on-11 drills.
The Jets have multiple defensive stars, including defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, linebackers Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley, and cornerback Sauce Gardner. On Thursday, Daniels got a close look at some of those stars, particularly Gardner.
While they had some friendly trash-talking on the field, Gardner was complimentary of Washington’s rookie quarterback after practice.”
“He gonna be nice,” Gardner said of Daniels. “I was just talking to him down there, and he was like, ‘I would’ve been able to get that throw over anyone but you.’ We was just joking with each other. I know LSU, I know they talk a lot, so when we first lined up, I was talking, ‘he young, he young,’ I was just trolling him, and he was smiling. I just told him you’re going to be real good. It was great just to be able to line up against him. As a corner, you wanna go against a rookie quarterback, but he’s one of those guys; he’s developed; obviously, he was drafted that high.”
Before practice, Daniels was seen speaking to Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers did not practice.
Although Daniels has yet to take his first NFL snap, he clearly has fans across the NFL. Gardner is one of the league’s best players.
Sauce Gardner and Robert Saleh on #Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels
Sauce: "He gonna be nice… I just told him like man you're gonna be real good"
Saleh: "He's an impressive kid… they got a good one to work with"@JPFinlayNBCS @nbcwashington #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/tMbXFWnXfc
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) August 8, 2024
