ASHBURN, Va. — Dan Quinn won’t know, he really can’t know, until the season opener in Philadelphia.

For all those people saying quarterback Jayden Daniels benefited from his time on the sidelines — that he grew as a leader and sharpened as a decision-maker — Quinn prefers to be agnostic on the issue. Maybe he grew, Quinn thought. Maybe he didn’t. There’s no way to tell in June.

“I think it’s harder to tell some of those lessons,” Washington’s head coach said as his team opened minicamp this week. “But we for sure talked a lot about them. Which parts of last year do we want to kick in the ass and get rid of? Which lessons do you want to move forward with? Some of that you may not [know] until the game.”

And there is another reason Quinn might be playing it coy about Daniels’ return. He’s being thrown into a new offense.

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After an injury-riddled 2025, one that Daniels prefers not to discuss, the Commanders star is facing more questions than he expected.

There are obvious concerns about his health. After missing 10 games, is he rusty or did the new perspective slow the game down? Will he look like the Offensive Rookie of the Year, or will it be a slow climb back?

Added to that list, can Daniels handle an offense that will ask him to go under center instead of in the shotgun? He’s never played that style before.

So Quinn isn’t rushing to any judgments. Daniels himself is also pumping the brakes. As the Commanders inch toward training camp, the mood around their franchise star is patience.

“I still got a long way to go,” Daniels said. “I mean, we only just installed [the offense] in how many other practices? I know we got a lot more to go.”

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Last year, Daniels followed a meteoric rookie season with a slew of injuries. He dealt with a knee sprain and then a hamstring strain. He shuffled in and out of the lineup until catastrophe hit with a dislocated elbow that shut him down for the season.

By the end of last year, the Commanders went from being in the NFC championship game to out of the playoff picture. It was so bad that Daniels tried to delete any memory of the ordeal from his mind.

“I’m done talking about last year. Last year was last year,” Daniels said. “I’m moving on to this season. Whatever happened last year is what happened. Can’t do anything for me.”

But, because of the struggles, Washington changed its offensive coordinator from Kliff Kingsbury to David Blough. The scheme that allowed Daniels to throw for 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns is gone. And the main feature of that offense — playing out of the shotgun — went away with it.

Daniels took fewer than 40 snaps under center his first two years in the league. Now it will be a staple of Blough’s attack. For some quarterbacks, it can be unnerving to go under center. Daniels will have to turn his back to the defense after the snap, something he hasn’t had to do.

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Daniels understands why the team made the move. He knows it can unlock a better play-action game and give him more help from the rushing attack. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, D.C.’s top back, said he “likes it better” to run under center. But that doesn’t mean Daniels is comfortable.

“I mean, it just gives different variation [to the defense],” Daniels said. “Different formations, running play-action. Y-zone, inside zone, mid-zone, things like that. So it will just open up a lot more things.”

He also will have more autonomy to check out of plays. That is one thing Quinn is looking forward to.

“In this system, there’s more chances for him to put us into a different play,” Quinn said. “There’s some recognition of the defense. What’s their disguise look like? Presnap recognition and getting in the play that we’d like to be in. Then allow some of his athletic ability to take over.”

But Quinn and Daniels know it will take time to get there.

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“It’s different,” Quinn said.

In the meantime, Daniels will spend the next month trying to get up to speed. He’s simultaneously trying to readjust after an injury and process a new offense.

To help, he is putting together a trip to Los Angeles with some of his teammates to throw.

“We’ll get a little trip going on. You guys probably will see it on social media or something,” he joked.

But, as minicamp breaks, the Commanders’ star isn’t settled in yet. And nobody will really know if he’s ready until September.