Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels addressed the media after practice on Dec. 11. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On losing WR Noah Brown:
"Yeah, I mean, he's an impactful player. Obviously, we're praying and wishing him a speedy recovery. We're always here for him, that's our brother. So, nothing changes on our side."
On the other receivers the team will lean on:
"Yeah, I mean, I'm confident in those guys that go out there and make plays. They put in the work, they put in the work daily, getting here early, staying after practice, putting in the work. So, obviously work that you put in, that's the product you're going to see on Sundays."
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On his bye week and on his toy drive event:*
"I stayed moving around, didn't do too much, kind of let the body, mind and soul rest and reset. But I was out there to be able to spend time with family and friends, and blessed enough to do a toy drive back in my whole high school."
On reflecting on his years in Louisiana and on where he is today:
"I mean, I'm excited to go back and be able to play in the state of Louisiana again, but I don't think I like look back like a year ago or something like that. So, I mean, I'm excited to go back and play in Louisiana for sure."
On the next step in his progression:
"Continue to go out there and try to contribute and help my team win some football games. I would say that's the main thing, not just for me but the whole team is, we got four games. Just go game by game is and see what the chips fall."
On how rewarding it is to give back to the community:
"It's dope. I love being able to see the joy on kids' faces. And obviously during different circumstances, obviously at the children's hospital yesterday, just be able to go out there and bring some joy with them, interact with them. And then back home, be able to get some toys to some people that might be less fortunate and might be struggling to provide for their kids with some toys. So, it was dope to be able to be a part of that."
On if playing in the NFL is what he thought it would be:
"I don't know. Personally, I think I have to really get back to you on that one, but I would say the only thing that kind of, well, not surprise me, but is how long the NFL season is. I mean, that's pretty much the only thing but you never know what [can] happen. Like when they say any given Sunday, it's any given Sunday for real."
*On how he gets back into a football mindset after the bye week: *"Nah, man, I mean, I kind of stay in that mode. I know what's ahead of us and we gotta go out there and compete and try to win some football games. But I mean, it's always good to step back for a minute and kind of just reset and take the football hat off and just, we could be able to go out there and be a regular person. Not get caught up in, 'Oh, I gotta watch film,' or do this, or I gotta go lift and stuff like that. It is good to kind of just reset, be around the people that kept me grounded and keep me humble. And it was, but once I knew I got back out here, I knew it was time to go."
On the offensive line's play this season:
"Oh, they're the goats. Obviously, they help protect me, so I love those guys to death. And just be able to see the versatility of people throughout the offensive line and be able to go out there and communicate and gel together. That goes back to outside of football, them hanging out, them communicating, talking, within the locker room all of us being on the same page to go out there and perform."
On facing the Saints this week:
"It is going to be fun. I mean, I played football down the road, so I went to a couple other games. I was blessed to go to a couple other games and it's going to be fun. It is going to be a good challenge. They're a good team. Superdome gets pretty loud and they're rolling, so we'll go out there, we'll see what we could do and compete against them."
On where he's seen the most growth from the team this season:
"Yeah, I would say just our ability to fight through adversity. Obviously, things don't go as perfect, as smooth as you want them to, but the resilience that we show and how we going to keep fighting to the end of the game, win, lose or draw. I'd say that's the biggest growth and improvement that I've seen from OTAs to even now."
On if they tried to tweak anything offensively over the bye week:
"Yeah, I mean, you go back and self-scout, but what works for us works for us and we gotta go out there and execute the plan, whatever [Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingsbury] designs and the coaches staff designs up and they give us, you go out there and execute it."
On what WR Jamison Crowder provides to the offense:
"He's a a savvy vet, played a lot of football, able to go out there and kind of know the spots in the different zones and get open. So, it is great to have J-Crowd back."
On any goals he wants to achieve over the last month of the regular season:
"I mean, team [goal] is win. That's the main thing for me is like, just win. What can I do as a quarterback, as a leader to get the guys going and what are we willing to sacrifice these last four games to be able to write our story and for our season?"
*On how much he thinks about the playoffs with four weeks to go: *"I mean, you can't really hide from any of that. I mean, you turn on your phone, you see stuff like that. So, it is not really an unknown, but it is like focused on the little things. Obviously, everybody go around this time who's able to be a part that wants to be in the playoffs, but we can't focus on four weeks from now. You know, the playoffs is here, we gotta go out there and compete against the Saints. Worry about the Saints, then move on to the next week, the next week. And like I said, let the chips fall."
On how comforting it is to know Brown will recover after suffering a serious injury:
"I mean, it's very comforting. You care about the person more than the football player, so make sure that the person is doing all right and his wellbeing is good. We always praying for him, we always here for him. So, whatever he needs, he could call on any of us in this locker room."
