The Washington Commanders have announced rookie Jayden Daniels will be their starting quarterback for the upcoming NFL season.
Daniels was the second-overall draft pick in April and has been training exclusively with the first team for the last three weeks.
The 23-year-old was expected to take over as the starter when he was drafted, but the Commanders wanted to give him the chance to settle into the squad during preseason.
"We knew we would get here," coach Dan Quinn said, "but we were just excited to see how we would.
"Seeing him hit all the spots, this is a rare competitor. He's just had a remarkable start to things."
Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, started the first two preseason games against the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.
Though Washington lost both outings, Daniels completed 12-of-15 passes for 123 yards across both games. He did not throw a touchdown pass but did score a three-yard run against the Jets.
It will be the seventh consecutive year that the Commanders open the season with a different starting quarterback, but Daniels is ready to step into the role.
"They didn't want to go out there and [immediately say] hey, you're a starter," Daniels said. "I haven't earned anything.
"What I did in college was great. Now it's time for a new slate, clean slate. I have to prove it not only to myself, not only to the coaches, but to my teammates.
"If DQ [Quinn] is going to preach competition, and you've got to earn everything, man, they can't come in and just give me the job right away. So, I got to have to go earn it.
"It's just a blessing that DQ and AP [general manager Adam Peters] trust me to go out there and lead the team, lead the franchise to hopefully win some games.
"It's something I've dreamed about as a kid to experience this moment."
The Commanders will start their NFL season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8.
Dolphins QB Tagovailoa slams 'terrible' approach of former coach Flores
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has hit out at the "terrible" style of former coach Brian Flores, hailing Mike McDaniel for showing greater belief in him.
Last month, the Dolphins handed Tagovailoa a franchise-record four-year, $212.4million extension off the back of an impressive fourth season with the team.
Tagovailoa posted career-best figures for passes attempted (560), completed (388), passing yards (4,624) and touchdown passes (29) in 2023, though Miami fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs, losing 26-7 to the eventual Super Bowl LVIII champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tagovailoa has improved season-on-season since being drafted fifth overall by Miami in 2020, with his two best campaigns coming since McDaniel replaced Flores as head coach in 2021.
The quarterback has now hit out at the way Flores – who is entering his second year as defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings – drained his confidence.
He said in an interview with The Dan LeBatard Show: "To put it in the simplest terms, if you woke up every morning and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don't belong, that you shouldn't be here, that you haven't earned this right...
"Then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'dude, you are the best fit for this'... How would it make you feel, listening to one or the other?
"You hear it, no matter what it is, the good or the bad, you hear it more and more, you start to believe that. I don't care who you are.
"You could be the president of the United States, you have a terrible person telling you things that you don't want to hear or probably shouldn't be hearing, you're going to start believing that about yourself.
"That's what ended up happening. It was basically two years of training that out of not just me but a couple of other guys as well."
The Dolphins open their 2024 campaign at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 8 before facing the Buffalo Bills, their AFC East rivals, four days later.
Minshew named as Raiders' starting quarterback
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has confirmed Gardner Minshew will open the season as the team's starting quarterback.
Minshew, who joined the Raiders as a free agent during the offseason, has been given the nod over Aidan O'Connell for the starting spot.
The 28-year-old nearly led the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs last year having taken over from rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson just four games into the season.
He went 7-6 as a starter, completing 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
When asked about the decision, Pierce said that Minshew's experience and his handling of the offense ultimately gave him the edge over O'Connell.
"A lot of things went into it," Pierce said. "It wasn't based off of [solely] last night. There are a lot of factors.
"So, we feel like Gardner gives us the best opportunity to get off to a fast start, and that's what we're going with.
"We support him, our team's behind it, our staff's behind it, the organisation's behind it."
Minshew completed 10 of 21 passes for 95 yards against the Dallas Cowboys at the weekend, while O'Connell was 14 of 20 for 96 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
And while Minshew has the starting spot for now, Pierce said that he may not have it for the duration of the season.
"I told them both just be ready," Pierce said.
"In the National Football League, you never know. Aidan is a young player that has tremendous upside and I think will be a starter at some point in this league, whether it's this year or next year.
"But he will play in games. I think Gardner's done a good job of being that older presence."
Rees-Zammit excited for Chiefs future
Louis Rees-Zammit is excited for the future after the former Wales wing made his home debut for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rees-Zammit, who left rugby union to try his hand in American football, had been expected to miss the Chiefs' preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
However, he overcame injury concerns to feature at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time, albeit Kansas City lost 23-24.
Rees-Zammit took a kick-off, returned a Lions kick-off for 27 yards, and spent time as a wide receiver during his home bow.
"I got to experience [the atmosphere] a little bit," he said.
"I'm excited for another game here next week and then we'll see what happens.
"I'm trying my hardest. I'm working hard in training every day to show what I can do.
"The more reps I get, the better I'll get so I'm excited to see what's going to happen next week and obviously in the future."
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