Fox NFL reporter gets Jayden Daniels' mom confused with his wife in awkward TV moment

Freudians have their work cut out for them after Fox Sports' Tom Rinaldi misidentified the woman comforting injured Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels during Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow before halftime in Arlington, and although he avoided any fracture, the third-year starter did suffer the same injury a season ago, adding some complication to the latest rehab on his non-throwing arm. 

'No other way to say it,' Rinaldi told Fox viewers as the network came back from halftime. 'Simply a devastating way for that half to end for the Commanders. Jayden Daniels, carted off the field, covering his head with a towel, clearly emotional. [He] made his way into [the X-ray room], where he still is here at AT&T Stadium.'

With Fox cameras showing Daniels outside the X-ray room, Rinaldi tried to identify the woman standing just out of frame.

'You see his wife, Regina Jacks…,' Rinaldi said before correcting himself. 'His mother, Regina Jackson…'

Rinaldi had touched a nerve.

Jackson is heavily involved in her son's career, serving as the former Heisman Trophy winner's business manager and agent. She's also taken criticism for that level of involvement, particularly after the family criticized his alma mater, LSU, for giving his No. 5 jersey to another player rather than retiring it.

Previously, after Jackson joined a training-camp interview with her son in 2025, NFL analyst and former ESPN host Trey Wingo wrote on X that she 'needs a hobby.'

Daniels also raised eyebrows by referring to Jackson as 'mommy.'

'Even though I'm 24 years old,' Daniels said last year, 'I'm still a grown man, but I have to listen to my momma at some point.'

Others poked fun at Daniels after his mother was seen dancing alongside him at San Francisco 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk's wedding.

Jackson explained her presence in her son's life during an Amazon Prime docuseries, The Money Game.

'… I know that sounds crazy, but I guarantee there's someone who's trying to get their hooks into Jayden Daniels,' Jackson said of any misguided women potentially interested in her son. 'So thank god he got a mama like me because it ain't happening.'

Fans have seized on the dynamic to portray Daniels as a 'mamma's boy' or some oedipal test subject, but the quarterback and his team have more pressing and tangible concerns. With Daniels out indefinitely, backup Marcus Mariota will be under center in Washington, where the Commanders host the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.

'Once I know an update that we can move forward with then I'll give you that,' Commanders coach Dan Quinn told Fox. 'Man, are we bummed for him. He was really playing his ass off. We will rally so hard around Marcus until Jayden's back. That's what we talked about as a team.'