Jacory Croskey-Merritt: Everything you need to know

Croskey-Merritt (undisclosed) is dressed for practice Wednesday but is not participating in team drills, Ben Standig of Big 100 Washington D.C. reports. Croskey-Merritt may simply be dealing with a minor injury, leading the Commanders to take a cautious approach to his activity level at voluntary OTAs. His next opportunity to take part in team drills will arrive during mandatory minicamp June 16-18, and then during training camp in July. The 2025 seventh-round pick suited up for all 17 regular-season games as a rookie, totaling 175 carries for 805 yards and eight touchdowns (4.6 YPC). He also had nine catches for 68 yards on 13 targets. Rachaad White inked with Washington on a one-year deal in free agency and will provide Croskey-Merritt with competition for touches, especially in the receiving game. The Commanders also inked Jerome Ford (shoulder) and re-signed Jeremy McNichols, both to one-year deals, and selected rookie sixth-rounder Kaytron Allen in April's draft.

Croskey-Merritt recorded 13 rushes for 29 yards in Sunday's 24-17 win over the Eagles. Croskey-Merritt saw eight of his 13 carries on the Commanders' opening possession, though he was phased out of the offense from there after picking up only five total yards. This performance was indicative of an up-and-down rookie season for Croskey-Merritt, as he reached at least 95 rushing yards in two of his final six games but failed to reach 35 yards on the ground in the other four. The Commanders are a candidate to add a running back either in free agency or the draft this offseason, but Croskey-Merritt is likely to have a role in 2026.

Croskey-Merritt (illness) was a full participant in Thursday's practice. Croskey-Merritt missed practice Wednesday due to an illness, but he appears to have already returned to full health. He and Chris Rodriguez look positioned to split backfield reps again during Sunday's regular-season finale against the Eagles. With Rodriguez sidelined by illness himself in Week 17, Croskey-Merritt managed to rush for 105 yards and two touchdown on just 11 carries, momentum that could result in him seeing a larger share of the backfield workload versus Philadelphia.