Jayden Daniels wasn’t the only Washington Commanders rookie quarterback to make his debut in last Saturday’s preseason opener.
Daniels started the game by leading the Commanders on a touchdown drive, which was highlighted by his 42-yard dime to wide receiver Dyami Brown and capped off by his three-yard touchdown.
Relieving Daniels was Marcus Mariota for one series and Jeff Driskel for the remainder of the first half. To begin the second half, the Commanders turned to their other rookie signal-caller, Sam Hartman.
The undrafted Hartman played at Wake Forest before spending his final collegiate season at Notre Dame in 2023. Washington gave Hartman a significant bonus to sign as an undrafted free agent.
Hartman completed eight of his 13 passing attempts for 83 yards and also rushed for 15 yards on two attempts. It was Hartman who led Washington on its second touchdown drive.
However, Hartman injured his shoulder on that scoring drive. While he finished the drive, he did not re-enter the game for the Commanders’ final possession.
Hartman left MetLife Stadium with ice around his right throwing shoulder.
On Monday, head coach Dan Quinn gave an update.
“Sam will be out today and tomorrow, and I would say if he and a couple of other guys don’t make it back in time for practice, they wouldn’t play on Saturday; that would be where we’re at,” Quinn said.
The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue.
“But it’s not something that we’re looking at long term, but for he and a couple of the other guys, like Brandon Coleman, Johnny Newton, Sam, it’ll be day-to-day, but if they don’t make it back to practice, we’ll push it into next week.”
While it’s disappointing for Hartman, particularly if he’s forced to miss any preseason time, the prognosis is good.