Marcus Mariota is out of the Washington Commanders’ NFL Week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts in London after hurting his right knee in the first quarter. He walked to the locker room under his own power, and the team has listed him as questionable to return. Rookie Athan Kaliakmanis has replaced him.
Mariota was making his second straight start for Jayden Daniels, who is already out with a dislocated elbow. The exit came on Washington’s second drive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Marcus Mariota’s right leg got caught underneath a Colts lineman as he was sacked. Notably, Colts defensive lineman Laiatu Latu landed on Mariota’s lower right leg and bent it awkwardly. The play was a third-down sack for a six-yard loss that stalled the drive in the red zone.
Trainers checked him on the field, then he spent time in the blue medical tent. From there he walked into the locker room for tests on the right knee. He did not return.
Drew Stevens still kicked a 29-yard field goal after the sack to make it 6-0. Mariota had set that series up with a 35-yard run. Washington Commanders had already scored on their first possession after recovering a Daniel Jones fumble deep in Indianapolis Colts territory and converting it into a 31-yard Stevens field goal.
Before he left, Mariota was 3 of 4 for 46 yards with that one rush for 35 yards. The afternoon stopped there.
The 32-year-old dealt with an MCL sprain on the same knee in the preseason. The Commanders have not said whether this is a fresh sprain or a setback to that issue.
Questionable leaves a door open, but an exit to the locker room in the first quarter is not a small setback. Marcus Mariota was already the fill-in. If the tests show the knee will not hold up, his day in London is over.
A return would depend on swelling and stability. Even if he is cleared, the sack took away the movement that made him a useful stand-in for Daniels. A compromised right knee changes what he can do if he does come back.
(More to follow)
