Washington Commanders’ running back Austin Ekeler suffered a scary injury against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday and has been ruled out for the remainder of the NFL season due to a torn Achilles.
In the fourth quarter, Ekeler was pivoting on a route when he went down to the turf untouched. Ekeler was holding the back of his lower leg as the medical staff attended to him.
Ekeler helped off the field and later carted to the locker room after first suffering the injury. The Commanders quickly announced that was ruled out with an Achilles issue.
Ekeler, now in his ninth campaign, is hoping to bounce back after a bit of a down year in 2024. In his first year with the Commanders last year, he recorded 367 yards and four touchdowns, missing a handful of games because of concussions. He added 366 yards through the air.
He started his career with the Los Angeles Chargers and was a consistently productive back, recording 900-plus rushing yards in 2021 and 2022. Ekeler has also been a threat through the air throughout his career, collecting 4,281 yards and 30 touchdowns over his eight years in the league.
The 30-year-old now must look toward rehabbing with a goal of returning to the field.
With Ekeler is out of the mix, the Commanders will lean heavily on backup running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Though he’s currently No. 2 on Washington’s depth chart, Croskey-Merritt saw the bulk of carries in Week 1, recording 82 yards and a touchdown in a win over the New York Giants.
Against the Packers on Thursday, he had just four carries for 17 yards. Ekeler also had 17 yards on eight carries in the 27-18 loss.
