The Washington Commanders will be short one of their top backfield options when they face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night at Levi's Stadium.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt has been ruled out for the primetime matchup because of a groin injury, leaving Washington to move forward without its No. 1 running back against a 49ers team coming off a win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Croskey-Merritt, 25, reached the NFL after stops at Alabama State from 2019-22, New Mexico in 2023 and Arizona in 2024. Washington selected him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he made that late pick look plenty interesting as a rookie by rushing for 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 4.6 yards per attempt.
This season, though, the production has dipped. He has 239 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging 3.6 yards per carry.
With Croskey-Merritt unavailable, the Commanders will lean more heavily on Rachaad White and Austin Ekeler. White has 118 rushing yards and is averaging 4.1 yards per attempt, while Ekeler has 28 yards on 4.0 yards per carry. Washington could also elevate Craig Reynolds and/or Devin Neal from the practice squad if the backfield needs more depth.
Even with the running back situation in focus, San Francisco’s biggest problem still comes from Jayden Daniels. He has rushed for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 9.7 yards per attempt, and he has also completed 60.5% of his passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception.
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Kittle also said the extra time in the schedule before the 49ers face the Commanders is coming at the right moment. After dealing with weakness and the lingering effects of the illness, getting a little more recovery time should help, especially for a player whose workload and presence matter so much to the offense. For San Francisco, the concern is less about one quiet stat line than about how quickly Kittle can get back to being himself. [Read more 🡒]