Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Officially on injured reserve
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The Commanders officially placed Ekeler (Achilles) on injured reserve Monday.
Ekeler went down while running a route in the flat in the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss in Green Bay. After undergoing the necessary tests, a torn Achilles was confirmed, wiping out the rest of his 2025 campaign. Rookie seventh-rounder Jacory Croskey-Merritt is expected to take on a good portion of the early-down work, but Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez also are on hand to mix in.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Torn Achilles confirmed
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Ekeler suffered a torn Achilles during Thursday's 27-18 loss to the Packers, an MRI confirmed Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Ekeler went down with a non-contact right Achilles injury late in the fourth quarter and was carted to the locker room. His 2025 season is over after he posted 14 carries for 43 yards and five receptions for 38 yards. The 30-year-old running back is expected to be placed on injured reserve at some point in the next week. The Commanders will move forward with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez in the backfield. Ekeler will be an unrestricted free agent in March.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Set for imaging Friday
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Ekeler is set to undergo an MRI on Friday, but the Commanders believe that he suffered a torn Achilles, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Ekeler suffered a non-contact right Achilles injury late in the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss to the Packers. If Friday's tests confirm the team's fears, Ekeler will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt likely will see an increased workload, with Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez vying for depth roles.
Ekeler suffered a lower-body injury in the fourth quarter of Thursday's game against the Packers, Wes Hodkiewicz of the Packers' official site reports.
Ekeler suffered a non-contact injury late in the fourth quarter and seemed to be favoring his right ankle or foot. He was carted to the locker room shortly after being assisted off the field. The exact nature of the injury is unclear, though Ekeler presumably will undergo tests with details emerging late Thursday or Friday.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Estimated as limited in practice
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Ekeler (shoulder) was listed as limited on Monday's practice estimate.
The Commanders held a walkthrough Monday on the heels of Sunday's 21-6 win over the Giants. In that contest, Ekeler logged 33 of a possible 70 snaps on offense, while carrying six times for 26 yards and catching all three of his targets for 31 yards. Now that he's managing a shoulder issue, however, Ekeler's status should be tracked ahead of Thursday night's game against the Packers. If he's available, Ekeler would be in line to continue to share backfield work with Jacory Croskey-Merritt (10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown Sunday) and Jeremy McNichols (four carries for 25 yards). Of the the trio, Ekeler was the only one to record a catch Week 1.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Nine touches in Week 1 win
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Ekeler rushed six times for 26 yards and caught all three of his targets for 31 yards in Sunday's 21-6 win over the Giants.
Ekeler finished third on the team in rushing yards and third in receiving yards, working as a secondary option in the offense out of the backfield. Rookie seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt led the rushing attack with 10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown while Jeremy McNichols mixed in for 25 yards on four carries, but neither of those running backs had a catch Sunday. Ekeler's likely to play primarily in passing situations, and that role could yield greater dividends in games that require Washington to play catch-up, which may be the case on the road in Week 2 against the Packers on Thursday.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Sleeper RBs
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Ekeler should be the best Washington running back in Week 1 against the Giants, and we'll see what happens moving forward with the other guys in Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. Even if one of those guys steps up, Ekeler will stay in his role as a change-of-pace rusher and work on passing downs. He did great against the Giants in Week 9 last season with 11 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown and three catches for 41 yards. Ekeler is worth using as a high-end flex in PPR, but he can be a flex option in all leagues given the matchup.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Resting for Week 1
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Ekeler won't play in Saturday's preseason game against Baltimore, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.
Ekeler and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt are the two running backs on Washington's list of players that won't participate. It's a sign they'll share work come Week 1 against the Giants, although there's also talk of Chris Rodriguez having a role, which might include short-yardage carries. The Commanders traded Brian Robinson to San Francisco for a sixth-round pick Friday, showing confidence in some combination of Ekeler, Croskey-Merritt, Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols to form a committee. Ekeler's receiving skills make his role the most secure, although he's on the downside of his career and has fumbled 18 times (including playoffs) in 63 games over the past four season.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Set to lead backfield?
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The Commanders likely will trade or release Brian Robinson, leaving Ekeler to split backfield work with some combination of Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the New York Times.
The decision to move on from Robinson hints at confidence in Washington's backfield alternatives, although Robinson's non-guaranteed $3.4 million salary is also a factor. It remains to be seen if Ekeler will capture some of the work that went to Robinson last season, as there's been talk of Croskey-Merritt potentially getting a lot of carries and Rodriguez taking short-yardage work. Ekeler averaged 4.8 yards on 77 carries and 10.5 yards on 35 catches in the regular season last year, but he missed five games with injuries and fumbled three times (later fumbling a fourth time during the NFC Championship Game).
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Tough ending to solid season
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Ekeler finished the 2024 regular season with 77 carries for 367 yards and four touchdowns and 35 catches for 366 yards in 12 games, adding 34 touches for 173 yards in three playoff appearances.
Ekeler mostly played well in the first season of a two-year contract, but he suffered a pair of concussions along the way and then lost a fumble in the NFC Championship Game. His future in Washington is uncertain, as the team can add $3.46 million in cap space by releasing Ekeler this offseason. Regardless of how things play out with the Commanders, his days as a top fantasy asset appear numbered, with Ekeler now trying to continue his career as a backup/passing-down specialist. He'll turn 30 in May.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Takes 11 touches for 53 yards
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Ekeler took eight carries for 27 yards and caught three of four targets for 26 yards in Sunday's 23-20 win at Tampa Bay.
Ekeler's 11 touches and 47 percent snap share put him slightly behind Brian Robinson, who had 10 carries for 16 yards and four catches (on five targets) for 22 yards while playing 53 percent of snaps. Neither RB found much room against a tough Tampa Bay run defense, and they'll now face another one of the NFC's top run-stuffing teams -- at least on paper -- when they head to Detroit in the divisional round. The Lions probably aren't as difficult to run on as many statistics suggest, as they've lost a slew of defenders to season-ending injuries, including DE Aidan Hutchinson (leg) and DT Alim McNeill (knee).
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Activated, cleared to return Sunday
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The Commanders activated Ekeler (concussion) from injured reserve Saturday, and he doesn't have a designation for Sunday's game at Dallas.
Since he was designated for return from IR on Wednesday, Ekeler put together three straight full practices and entered the weekend listed as questionable for Week 18 action. In conjunction with activating him Saturday, the team took him off the injury report, thereby paving the way for his first appearance since he sustained a concussion Week 12 against the Cowboys. At the very least, Ekeler should take on a pass-catching role out of Washington's backfield alongside lead runner Brian Robinson, which likely will relegate Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez to lesser roles than they've had in recent outings.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Listed as questionable
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Ekeler (concussion) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Dallas, Todd Archer of ESPN.com reports.
The Commanders designated Ekeler to return from injured reserve Wednesday, at which point he logged the first of three consecutive full practices. He'll need to be activated from IR on Saturday in order to play in the regular-season finale. If that happens, it'll likely mean reduced workloads for Jeremy McNichols and/or Chris Rodriguez, and it's also possible Ekeler would cut into Brian Robinson's usage.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Full participant in practice return
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Ekeler (concussion) was a full participant in his return to practice Wednesday.
After being designated for return from the injured reserve earlier Wednesday, Ekeler took the practice field for the first time since Week 12, and his lack of restrictions indicate that he's likely cleared concussion protocol. Ekeler may still need to get back in playing shape after missing the Commanders' last four games, and even if he's added back to the 53-man roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Cowboys, he may be in store for just a small role out of the backfield. A win this Sunday will earn Washington the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and a first-round matchup with the Rams or Buccaneers, while a loss could drop Washington to the No. 7 seed -- if Green Bay beats Chicago -- and would set the Commanders up for a more challenging wild-card round matchup with the Eagles.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Practice window gets opened
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The Commanders designated Ekeler (concussion) for return from injured reserve Wednesday. the 21-day practice window for Ekeler, who was placed on IR on Nov. 30 due to a concussion.
The transaction opens a 21-day window wherein Ekeler can be evaluated for a return from IR, after the Commanders deactivated him Nov. 30. A decision on Ekeler's status for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Cowboys hasn't bene made, but the veteran running back looks like he'll at least be able to get in some practice reps this week. If Ekeler ultimately gets the green light to play this weekend, he would probably be eased back into the mix. Washington also has Brian Robinson, Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez on hand to pick up reps out of the backfield in Week 18.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Not ready to practice
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Ekeler (concussion) won't practice Wednesday, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.
Head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that Ekeler remains in concussion protocol after he suffered a brain injury on a hard tackle during a kickoff return in the final minute of Sunday's 34-26 loss to the Cowboys. While he'll still have two more chances this week to potentially take part in practice, Ekeler doesn't appear to be trending toward playing this Sunday against the Titans. An Ekeler absence this weekend would open more snaps for back running backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez, who could see their roles grow even larger if lead back Brian Robinson (ankle) is also sidelined against the Titans.
Ekeler sustained a concussion during Sunday's 34-26 loss to the Cowboys, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.
Per Jhabvala, head coach Dan Quinn added that Ekeler -- who was injured on a kickoff return late in the contest -- will undergo further testing out of an abundance of caution. In addition to Ekeler sustaining a concussion Sunday, fellow running back Brian Robinson left the game with an ankle injury in the first half, returned and then left again. The status of both backs will thus be worth monitoring as next weekend's home tilt versus the Titans approaches.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Sleeper RBs
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Brian Robinson Jr. is my Start of the Week, but I also like Ekeler as a flex option in all leagues. He comes into Week 12 having scored at least 17.3 PPR points in three games in a row, and he has eight games this season with at least 10.2 PPR points. In Week 11 at Philadelphia, Ekeler made a huge impact in the passing game with eight catches for 89 yards on nine targets, and he should be a nice complement to Robinson in this matchup.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Returning to backup role
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Ekeler likely will return to a backup role with Brian Robinson (hamstring) cleared to play Thursday at Philadelphia, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Ekeler's workload was perhaps disappointing during Robinson's two-game absence -- he received 14 touches in both contests -- but a trio of one-yard touchdowns made him a useful lineup option for fantasy managers. With Robinson back in action, Ekeler is unlikely to continue his goal-line touchdown binge but should take most of the snaps in passing situations while also subbing in for some carries.
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Commanders' Austin Ekeler: Scores twice
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Ekeler rushed the ball 13 times for 44 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 28-27 loss to the Steelers. He added one reception on two targets for seven yards.
Ekeler drew his second straight start due to Brian Robinson (hamstring) sidelined. Only one of his rush attempts went for double-digit yardage, though he made hay with a pair of one-yard touchdown runs. Ekeler was curiously uninvolved as a pass catcher, though that part of his game could return if Robinson can re-take the field in Week 11 against the Eagles, in turn pushing Ekeler back into a complementary role.
