Running back Austin Ekeler was set to join the Carolina Panthers
' practice squad in Week 4 when the Washington Commanders called. What's wild is that after being signed back to the roster just a few days earlier, Ekeler not only made the trip across the pond
; he played 17 offensive snaps (27%) against the Indianapolis Colts. That may not sound like much, but Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt led the backs with 29 snaps (45%), Ekeler was next with 17 (27%), and rookie Kaytron Allen played 12 (19%).
There are two ways to look at this: either Washington already highly trusts a 31-year-old Ekeler coming off an Achilles tendon injury
he suffered in Week 2 of the 2025 season, or Allen may not be as far along in the pecking order as we thought. Either way, Bill still got the lion's share of the snaps, even though Ekeler gained more yards on fewer carries and neither back lit things on fire (Ekeler had 4 carries for 29 yards, and one catch for 11; Bill had 9 carries for 15 yards, and two catches for 35 yards).
While the initial signing is certainly more about adding another dimension than replacing the current back, the truth is generally in the numbers, which will undoubtedly shift again when White returns.
The player this should worry is Allen, who saw Ekeler come in and get officially signed when the team was in the process of making a trip to London
, and then get more snaps than him. Obviously, Ekeler wasn't brought in for depth, since the team knows what he can bring when healthy, but it's interesting to see how quickly the younger back rotation shifted.
That makes what happened with rookie Robert Henry Jr. even more interesting. Henry flashed during the preseason but was cut and re-signed to Washington's practice squad after a bit of fumblitis, until Seattle signed him away Monday. The Seahawks then decided not to sign veteran Joe Mixon after his physical, potentially opening an opportunity for Henry. Washington, meanwhile, chose to bring back Ekeler and immediately gave him more snaps than Allen.
The team still appears committed to Croskey-Merritt as its lead back, but Ekeler getting 27% of the snaps right off the street tells me that the coaching staff believes he can help now. I was already expecting him to lead from experience
, help in passing-down work and protection, and give the offense a dependable veteran option rather than becoming a volume runner again. We'll have to wait until White gets back before we get a clearer picture of how Washington wants to divide this backfield.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/commanders/onsi as Austin Ekeler's First Game Back Reveals Surprising Truth About Commanders Backfield .
