ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders are back at work after the bye week and preparing to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 15 of the NFL regular season.
A win this weekend and the Commanders position themselves right on the edge of clinching a playoff spot, something not many thought possible when the league year began back in March.
While December football remains the most critical of months for competitive teams like Washington, it also stands as a month where some of the team’s younger fans who are competing with health problems can use a win in the form of meeting the heroes they watch on the field on Sundays.
On Tuesday, 14 Commanders rookies, including starting quarterback Jayden Daniels and left tackle Brandon Coleman, visited some of those who are spending this holiday season at the Children’s National Hospital. The visit brought a winning spirit and some holiday cheer to the patients and their families.
“There’s a lot of kids that go through a tough time,” Coleman said while dressed up as the biggest elf most of the patients have likely ever seen. “Being able to give back, kind of lighten their day up, and just give back to the community is big for me.”
Of course, no holiday visit could be complete without Santa, and playing that role among the Washington rookie class on this day was quarterback Sam Hartman. Just like Santa gives during this season, Hartman made sure to recognize all of the individuals involved in what happens on a daily basis at the hospital.
“It’s a collection of everybody,” Hartman said. “There’s nurses around and everybody’s contribution to this whole thing, and so we just fill our role and know our role and do it at the best ability we can.”
Santa couldn’t have said it better himself. Just like the legendary December figure, he’d be nothing without his helpers. On Tuesday the most popular helper of all, quarterback Jayden Daniels, made sure to spread the cheer almost as well as he spreads the football on game days.
“Obviously you don’t want anybody to go through the circumstances they’re going through, but just to come back and being around and just to bring them joy, seeing the smiles on their face and interact with them, I mean, it’s nothing I can ask for,” said Daniels. “That’s something I always wanted to do, just give back to kids.”
The moment wasn’t lost on any of the kids, staff, or players. It is a cause that resonates closely with rookie receiver Luke McCaffrey who leveraged the NFL’s ‘My Cause My Cleats’ initiative to draw attention to the facility and its mission with his cleats designed by Riley, a patient at the Children’s National Hospital.
“I know that it’s so easy to get caught up in our own world, but at the end of the day we’re playing a kid’s game on a big stage and it puts so much into perspective of just how valuable life is,” McCaffrey said of the experience. “To fight adversity and see somebody who's strong enough to do that at such a young age, it’s nothing but inspirational.”
