Jacory

Croskey-Merritt

He’ll miss at least the next four weeks. Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler figure to get the majority of the work from Weeks 6-9. The Commanders also brought Jeremy McNichols off injured reserve and signed him to the active roster.

No surprise here. Croskey-Merritt has been dealing with a groin injury since the start of the season. This week he couldn’t practice and has since been officially ruled out for the Commanders’ Monday Night Football matchup against the 49ers. Croskey-Merritt will get a two-week break with Washington on bye in Week 7. Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler figure to handle the majority of the backfield touches in his absence with White being the preferred fantasy option between the two.

Croskey-Merritt has dealt with a groin injury all season despite playing in the Commanders’ first five games. He missed multiple practices this week and will now get two weeks off with missing the game against the 49ers ahead of Washington’s bye week. For now, expect Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler to handle the majority of the backfield touches for the Commanders.

Croskey-Merritt has played through multiple injuries this year. We still think he has a chance to face the 49ers in Week 6’s Monday Night Football game. Rachaad White (shoulder) sported a red non-contact jersey for the first time this week, and was downgraded to limited today.

Ekeler and Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin) are both ailing, though the latter player sat out entirely. Rachaad White (shoulder) and Jeremy McNichols (quad) are both practicing in full. Croskey-Merritt is the only fantasy-relevant Commanders running back at this time, assuming he is good to go on Monday night.

Croskey-Merritt has played through soft tissue injuries for weeks now. He played through a groin injury last week, and the same issue is still bothering him today. Regardless, Croskey-Merritt still has a chance to play this week and today’s absence could actually benefit the starting running back. The Commanders face the 49ers on Monday night, so Croskey-Merritt has extra time to rest and rehab. Stay tuned.

Croskey-Merritt’s 82 rushing yards set a new season high. Nearly half of his yards came in the first quarter when “Bill” broke free for a 33-yard touchdown to give the Commanders a 7-0 lead on their opening drive. On the final play of the third quarter, Croskey-Merritt would rip off a 22-yard run on a drive that eventually ended on a 26-yard touchdown run by Jayden Daniels. JCM continues to be the unquestioned leader in Washington’s backfield, but he remains a touchdown-dependent fantasy option due to his lack of receiving upside. He’ll be a boom-or-bust RB2 in next week’s game against the 49ers.

Croskey-Merritt logged two limited sessions to begin the week before upgrading to full on Friday. He should be good to go for this normal weekly role. Unfortunately, his workloads have varied, so he is more of an upside FLEX starter than he is an RB2. That said, Jayden Daniels (elbow) is returning this week, which should give the offense an efficiency boost.

He remains on track to play, but the workload he’ll get remains more uncertain after the Commanders re-divvied carries in England last Sunday. Croskey-Merritt would make for a shaky FLEX play in Week 5.

A limited session to start the week is usually a non-issue, but JCM’s role was already suspect before getting banged up. He ran nine times in Week 4. Austin Ekeler, Kaytron Allen, and Craig Reynolds all combined for nine attempts. Rachaad White is also back at practice, giving the team another option beyond Bill. With health and workload concerns, JCM is barely an RB3 headed into Week 5.