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When is Chris Rodriguez Jr. coming back? Will Chris Rodriguez Jr. play again this season? Read about Chris Rodriguez Jr.'s return date and injury updates for 2025 as of Week 16.
Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. missed Week 15's game against the New York Giants due to a groin injury, opening the door for rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt to post his best game since his breakout performance in Week 5.
Rodrguez has been operating as Washington's clear lead back in recent weeks, and he should be expected to retain his starting duties when he returns. However, his status in practice this week is worth monitoring as he nurses a groin injury.
When is Rodriguez coming back? What can we expect from him in fantasy going forward? Read below to find out.
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Chris Rodriguez Jr. Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Rodriguez was a true game-time decision to play in Week 15 against the Giants, so he was close to playing and could wind up just missing one game. The 25-year-old missed Wednesday's practice last week, but was able to practice in limited capacity on Thursday and Friday.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. Remains a Roster-Worthy Running Back After Injury Absence https://t.co/Vkq9T50tcV
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) December 15, 2025
The Commanders held a light practice on Tuesday, with Rodriguez present during the portion open to the team's beat reporters, according to Tom Schad of the Washington Post. More will be known about the third-year running back's status in the upcoming days of practice.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
Rodriguez has recorded double-digit carries in four of the past five games, with the lone exception coming in Week 10 after he left in the first half with a shoulder injury. He's totalled 54 carries for 253 yards and three touchdowns over that span, with Croskey-Merritt fading into a depth role and Jeremy McNichols maintaining his role on pass downs.
It's possible that Croskey-Merritt's 96-yard, touchdown performance against the Giants earns him a bigger role moving forward, and he operates in a timeshare with Rodriguez, but that remains to be seen. Rodriguez's ceiling in fantasy is already capped by being a non-threat as a receiver, rendering him dependent on finding the end zone to return legitimate value.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. is in for the @Commanders TD!
DENvsWAS on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/M4mZTpDyyV— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2025
Washington's offense hasn't been as potent in recent weeks, and with Jayden Daniels (elbow) shut down for the season, it's tough to trust Rodriguez as anything more than an RB3 when he returns. That could be as soon as this Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but we'll know more about his status later in the week.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 16 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Christian Watson, Troy Franklin, Rome Odunze. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 16. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 16 of the 2025 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.
Week 16 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Christian Watson, Troy Franklin, Rome Odunze. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 16.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 16 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 16 (2025)? 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 16 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 16 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Christian Watson, Troy Franklin, Rome Odunze compared to others:
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