ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The start of the 2026 season is less than three months away for the Washington Commanders, and it's no surprise that Jayden Daniels wants to look forward, not backward.
“I’m done talking about last year. Last year’s last year," the 25-year-old quarterback said at minicamp this week. "Moving on to this season, and whatever happened last year is what happened last year. Can’t do anything for me but just continue to get better.”
After reaching the NFC championship game two seasons ago when Daniels was a rookie, Washington stumbled to 5-12 in 2025. The Commanders were a trendy pick to regress before the season started, and while injuries played a significant role, the naysayers ultimately had this one right when Washington went on an eight-game losing streak in the middle of the season. The big question this year is whether Daniels can stay healthy after he played only seven games last season, but there's more to rebounding than just that.
Across the board, Daniels' numbers were down in 2025 when he did play: passer rating (100.1 to 88.1), completion rate (69.0 percent to 60.6), yards per pass attempt (7.4 to 6.7) and yards per rush attempt (6.02 to 4.79). Washington went 2-5 in the games Daniels played after a 12-5 mark the previous regular season.
Commanders fans have already seen one promising quarterback — Robert Griffin III — have a sensational rookie season in 2012 and then never reach those heights again. They don't want a repeat with Daniels.
After last season, the Commanders overhauled coach Dan Quinn's staff. David Blough replaced Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. D.J. Williams, the son of Super Bowl-winning Washington quarterback Doug Williams, is now the quarterbacks coach.
“When D.J. got here was my first time meeting him. Obviously I heard about him through Doug,” Daniels said. “It's been cool. He's been pushing me. We've been having conversations, not even just about football but about life.”
Daniels and the Commanders have to adjust to a new offense under Blough. Of course, Daniels adapted quickly when he was a rookie and new to the NFL, so the hope is that he'll pick things up rapidly this offseason too as the system is installed.
“(The offense is), I would say, let's say 80% in. But knowing it and then making the plays come to life, that's different," Quinn said. "The thing that he works at, and you can tell so quickly, is his ability to process. So for him, the reps of doing it over and over is helpful.”
Minicamp was just a small part of Washington's preparation for the season. The Commanders open Sept. 13 at Philadelphia.
“On this day of installs, you have a certain set of plays. Then we do another one on the next day and another one. So you don't get continuity — ‘I want to run that concept 15 times,’" Quinn said. "That will take place in camp. ... And then when we get back to camp, that install process isn't new."
Right now the offense is a work in progress, but at least the focus is on next season and not the previous one.
“I know we've got a lot more to go. We just built the foundation,” Daniels said. “Just learning the new offense, terminology. Why we're attacking this play. What we want to do on this play. Things like that.”
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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) works out during NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) works out next to quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) during NFL football practice, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Friday that intense fighting in southern Lebanon killed four soldiers.
The military identified one of the dead, a lieutenant colonel, and said the three others would be identified later.
Lebanon’s state-run news agency says at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the south overnight.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with Hezbollah, reported that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over ongoing Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
Israel maintains it must continue to hold the territory and have a free hand to battle Hezbollah as it has been launching attacks into northern Israel.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Friday its forces struck targets throughout southern Lebanon overnight as Hezbollah reported intense fighting in the area, threatening the nascent agreement between Iran and the United States to end their war.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported at least 16 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, which the Israeli military said were ongoing.
Continued fighting in Lebanon could unravel the newly signed deal, which calls for an immediate halt to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” where Israel has been battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, and for ensuring Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has refused to withdraw, saying Israeli forces will remain in Lebanon until the threat from Hezbollah has been eliminated.
The attacks came as planned talks in Switzerland between Iran and the United States over their efforts to reach a permanent end to the Iran war were delayed.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday put off his trip to Switzerland where he had been set to lead the talks. The White House blamed logistical issues, but the announcement came after a report from Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied to Hezbollah, that Iran was delaying sending its delegation to Switzerland over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed the initial pact with Iran on Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles, which took immediate effect.
In comments following the signing, Vance offered a blunt warning to Israel, saying Trump was “the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporter David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok.
Barber Wissam Srour, 41, holds his daughter's bicycle recovered from his barbershop as he searches for belongings in the rubble of the shop, damaged in an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A girl looks toward what residents said was an Israeli drone flying overhead as a boy checks his family's water storage tank in Halta, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smokes rise to the sky following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky in an area near Beaufort Castle following an Israeli military strike in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The southern town of Khiam, Lebanon, is seen through a fence near the Lebanon-Israel border, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Buildings damaged by Israeli strikes are seen through shattered glass from the Jabal Amel Hospital in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
