Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has made a stronger case for more work heading into Year 2. The rushing production was already there after he turned 175 carries into 805 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, but the bigger development this summer has come without the ball. Washington senior writer Zach Selby called Croskey-Merritt's pass protection arguably the biggest thing that stood out during a good camp, and that matters after those struggles cost him snaps at times last season. Dan Quinn has also praised the progress he's made as a receiver. A late-August groin injury interrupted things for a bit, but Croskey-Merritt was back on the practice field Sept. 1 and spoke with reporters after practice two days later. Rachaad White still gives Washington another option, especially on passing downs, so this is not suddenly a one-back setup. Still, RotoBaller has moved Croskey-Merritt from RB43 earlier this offseason to RB37 in its Sept. 6 half-PPR rankings. He has done enough this summer to justify the bump
Croskey-Merritt (lower body) is dressed for Tuesday's practice, Tashan Reed of The Washington Post reports. This is a big positive for Croskey-Merritt, who had been working through a lower-body issue late in the preseason. He is now trending in the right direction for Week 1, but official injury reports the week of the game will give final confirmation. If healthy, Croskey-Merritt is in line for a prominent role yet again in the Washington backfield
Croskey-Merritt (lower body) is expected to return to practice next week, John Keim of ESPN reports. Croskey-Merritt was forced to miss the Commanders' final two preseason games due to a lower-body injury, and he will not participate at practice Monday. His participation level once he gets back on the field should offer more clarity on his readiness for the regular-season opener Sept. 13 against the Eagles. In the meantime, Kaytron Allen is the Commanders' top healthy option in the backfield with Rachaad White (hamstring) also banged up at practice
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin) was not participating in Monday's practice, but it sounds like he should return to the field next week, according to John Keim of ESPN. Croskey-Merritt is believed to be dealing with a minor groin injury that caused him to sit out of the team's final two preseason games. But as long as JCM is back on the practice field next week, he should be in line to play in the Week 1 regular-season opener against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 13. Heading into his second year in the NFL, Croskey-Merritt is positioned to lead Washington on early downs, but his fantasy upside will be capped by the presence of newcomer and pass-game specialist Rachaad White (hamstring), who is expected to see most of the targets out of the backfield as a receiver. Both backs are a little banged up, though, so it is possible that rookie Kaytron Allen sees a bigger role out of the gates in Week 1. In season-long redraft leagues, Croskey-Merritt should be drafted as an RB3/flex with upside in his sophomore campaign. The former seventh-rounder from Arizona impressed with 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries in his first NFL season, adding only nine receptions for 68 yards through the air in 17 games
Croskey-Merritt (lower body) won't suit up for Friday's preseason game at Baltimore. Last Thursday, Croskey-Merritt pulled up at the end of a catch and run in practice due to a lower-body injury, which now will keep him out of the Commanders' final two exhibitions. He focused on rehab work on the side this week, with the intent to return to practice at some point next week. Rachaad White (hamstring) and Jeremy McNichols (quadriceps) also aren't in uniform Friday, meaning rookie sixth-rounder Kaytron Allen, Robert Henry and Craig Reynolds are the team's available RBs for preseason Week 3
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- If a neutral observer only saw the tail end of the Washington Commanders ' joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens , they would have said Washington more than held its own. In the final drill, both teams got one possession, trailing by four with under a minute left. The Commanders' defense got a fourth-down stop when Mike Sainristil intercepted Lamar Jackson . The Commanders' offense followed that up with Jayden Daniels fading away from heavy pressure and lofting a beautiful pass to Antonio Williams for a touchdown. The Commanders' sideline erupted and stormed the end zone. But if said observer had watched the entire two-hour session, they might have thought the two teams didn't even belong on the same field. Baltimore's thorough dominance was both eye-opening and telling of where both teams stand with the regular season two and a half weeks away. Training camp and the preseason deliver us a lot of information at once. Some of it proves to be overreaction, but some of it proves prescient. As such, let's play a game of "fact or fiction" from Wednesday's developments. By far the biggest mismatch was the Commanders' ragtag offense against Baltimore's defense, a unit already loaded with talent and poised to be one of the league's best under new head coach Jesse Minter. Yes, Washington was without three starting offensive linemen -- LT Laremy Tunsil (torn triceps) will miss extended time, if not the whole season; C Nick Allegretti (calf) continues to miss much of training camp; and RG Sam Cosmi (illness) was also out -- and its top two running backs, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White . But at a time when teams are supposed to be building and evaluating depth, Washington looked in disarray. As longtime Commanders beat writer Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic posted ... This is the worst I’ve ever seen the Commanders’ offense in years. Inoperable offensive line. There were multiple miscues on snaps, the most basic aspect of football at any level, as fifth-round rookie center Matt Gulbin got first-team reps. Julian Good-Jones , who had been working at center in Allegretti's absence, shifted to right guard with Cosmi out but hardly fared any better. Tanoa Togiai also worked in with the first team. If the day could be summed up in one play, it was Daniels being forced to field a wayward snap, only to throw an interception to Kyle Hamilton on a play doomed from the start. "I feel like we were just out of sync, a little bit, with our combos," RT Josh Conerly Jr . said . "There was a little bit of a mixup in the lineup as well, so there were some guys next to each other that haven't worked next to each other all camp." Daniels found Terry McLaurin for one chunk gain but otherwise was limited mainly to underneath throws, scrambles and would-be sacks. "Not the best day that I thought we could have had, all-around, from myself to everybody else, but these are the opportunities that you get to learn from," Daniels said. "Good thing about it, man, it's August." He's right. It is August. But August is slowly slipping away, and not in the right direction. In preseason Week 2 -- the only preseason action the starters got -- Daniels was heavily pressured on his first play and sacked on his second. Washington ran a draw on third down to escape any further damage and punted. As such, this joint practice seemed to be a crucial one, and it did not go well. The offensive line is, plainly, a mess. The Commanders were never anticipating Gulbin playing significant snaps (and he still might not). Good-Jones has played two NFL snaps, back in the 2023 season finale. Togiai is an undrafted rookie. They are back-of-roster or practice-squad players. "I gotta do my job at the end of the day," Daniels said. "They have to do their job. I'm never one to go out there and complain about X, Y and Z, because at the end of the day, I can [only] control what I can control. ... Julian, Matt, they're doing a tremendous job up front w
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Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt was limited in practice on Monday with an undisclosed injury, but head coach Dan Quinn clarified on Tuesday that the running back is dealing with a lower-body injury. According to Ben Standig, it is a groin injury but is not considered significant. Croskey-Merritt was spotted catching passes and jogging lightly on Tuesday, and he could be on his way to another limited practice. The second-year back led the Commanders with 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries last year and added nine catches for 68 yards. He could return to full practice later this week and still be good for a regular workload in Week 1 against the Eagles, but his progress will definitely be important to monitor. Rachaad White (hamstring) is also working through an injury that isn't considered to be serious, leaving rookies Kaytron Allen and Robert Henry, along with veteran Craig Reynolds, as the Commanders' healthy running backs right now. Croskey-Merritt is the RB37 in RotoBaller's rankings, with White not far behind him at RB40. Watch carefully to see who is ready for Week 1, since both have good upside but also significant risk factors with their current injuries
Coach Dan Quinn said Monday that Croskey-Merritt (lower body) will work on the side with the Commanders' training staff this week, John Keim of ESPN.com reports. Per Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C., Croskey-Merritt pulled up at the end of a catch and run at Thursday's practice, which kept him sidelined for Saturday's preseason game in Detroit. Quinn relayed to Keim that Croskey-Merritt is tending to a lower-body injury and likely will return to practice next week. Meanwhile, fellow RB Rachaad White (hamstring) will be back on the practice field Monday as a limited participant
Croskey-Merritt won't play Saturday after the Washington running back came up "a little gimpy" following a play Thursday, John Keim of ESPN reports. Keim noted that Croskey-Merritt came up "a little gimpy" after a play during Thursday's training camp practice. It doesn't appear to be a long-term concern, but the Commanders will take the cautious route by sidelining the 2025 seventh-rounder for Saturday's exhibition game. Croskey-Merritt will end up not playing in each of the Commanders' first two preseason games, and his last opportunity to suit up before the regular season is this Friday against the Ravens
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt is the current favorite to be his team's starter in the backfield, according to Ben Standig of the Last Man Standig Substack. A seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Croskey-Merritt recorded 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries across 17 games (seven starts) as a rookie. The Commanders also roster veteran backs Rachaad White and Jeremy McNichols (quadriceps), as well as rookie Kaytron Allen, all of whom could push Croskey-Merritt for playing time. Croskey-Merritt recorded just nine catches on 13 targets last season, so he's unlikely to play a true three-down role in Washington. Still, the 25-year-old is a high-upside rusher who should provide value for fantasy managers as long as he sees regular work in the Commanders' offense. RotoBaller currently ranks Croskey-Merritt as the RB38 for redraft leagues entering 2026
