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Will Jacory Croskey-Merritt start for the Washington Commanders when he returns? Wyatt McClintock breaks down the Jacory Croskey-Merritt return timeline and fantasy football outlook ahead of Week 8.
Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin) has carried the ball 67 times for 239 yards, scored two touchdowns, and caught five of his six targets for 40 yards in his five games this season.
Unfortunately, he reinjured his groin in his Week 5 game against the New York Giants and was subsequently placed on injured reserve shortly after. Croskey-Merritt will be forced to miss at least four games and will be eligible to return to action in Week 11 at the earliest. He was a post-hype sleeper coming into this year after delivering an underappreciated rookie season.
The second year back has shared the backfield with three respected veteran running backs. Rachaad White, Austin Ekeler, and Jeremy McNichols all profile closer to pass-catching backs who are strong in pass protection and have stolen carries here and there. So, will Croskey-Merritt be the starting back when he returns to action?
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Will Jacory Croskey-Merritt Start For The Washington Commanders When He Returns?
It’s more likely than not that Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt will return as the Washington Commanders' starting running back when he is activated off injured reserve. He has seen a dominant 57 percent rushing share among the Washington backs through the first five games this season.
Rachaad White has seen the second-most running back carries in the team’s backfield and only had a 25 percent rushing share among the running backs in that stretch. Croskey-Merritt more than doubled White's rushing share, showing Washington's desire to make Croskey-Merritt the primary featured back.
As mentioned previously, Croskey-Merritt will be out at least four games and is eligible to return in Week 11. Per ESPN’s John Keim, the team believes the young back reinjured his groin in their Week 5 tie against the New York Giants.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Headed to Injured Reserve with Groin Issue
https://t.co/B4Q8Z2XX6G
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) October 19, 2026
Croskey-Merritt didn’t play much in the fourth quarter and received no carries in the final 14 minutes and 20 seconds of regulation or in overtime, according to Sports Illustrated’s Philip Hughes.
The 25-year-old had 11 carries for 82 yards (7.45 yards per carry) and scored one touchdown before the carries unexpectedly stopped.
33-yard TD from Bill Croskey-Merritt!
@NYGvsWAS on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/TYtDvgaM5m— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
Keim from ESPN noted that Croskey-Merritt originally hurt his groin in training camp, sidelining him for the final two preseason games.
In Croskey-Merritt’s absence, the team will likely deploy a three-man running back committee, with White as the lead back. We saw this in the Commanders’ Week 6 loss to the 49ers. White led the team with seven carries, McNichols had five, and Ekeler finished with one.
White has operated as a solid No. 1 in Tampa Bay, but McNichols showed more juice carrying the ball against the 49ers.
Additionally, on the Beltway Football podcast, JP Finley and Mitch Tischler discussed White looking “lost” in the offense against San Francisco. They noted multiple plays where he had no idea where to go, and Jayden Daniels had to direct him to where to be and line up.
White, McNichols, and Ekeler are all serviceable backs who are passable for the Commanders until Croskey-Merritt returns. It feels like the Commanders want Croskey-Merritt to be the guy and become their star running back. The other three likely aren’t talented enough to steal his starting role, and the Commanders will give him every chance to show he’s the guy.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Fantasy Football Outlook
The Jacory Croskey-Merritt fantasy experience has been frustrating, to say the least. He’s flashed signs of being one of the next young star runners with his explosiveness and encouraging performances.
However, his explosive carries don’t always translate to fantasy success, leading to clunker outings and fantasy managers wanting more.
In Croskey-Merritt’s five games, he’s the PPR RB33 on a points-per-game basis, averaging 9.0 points per game. He’s cracked double-digit points twice this season, but he's needed to score a touchdown to do it.
On Croskey-Merritt’s defense, he may be running behind the worst rushing offensive line in the NFL. The Washington offensive line has battled injuries and different interior guard combinations, but it's been bad.
Corskey-Merritt is averaging 2.2 rushing yards before contact per carry. That would rank 30th overall last season among running backs, with the league average sitting at 2.5 rushing yards before contact per carry.
Here’s the good news: the Commanders are coming off their bye week, which hopefully gave the offense time to clean up and adjust their rushing attack. In addition, Croskey-Merritt will be eligible to return in Week 11 after the offensive line has had time to grow from their likely bye-week adjustments.
Croskey-Merritt should be viewed as a low-to-mid RB3 when he returns, with the possibility of being a reliable RB2 if he and the offense hit their ceiling down the stretch. It may require fantasy managers to continue to be patient until it happens.
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Rachaad White, Austin Ekeler. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 8. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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Popular Week 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 8 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Rachaad White, Austin Ekeler compared to others:
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