{"id":202970,"date":"2024-12-01T09:29:08","date_gmt":"2024-12-01T14:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=202970"},"modified":"2024-12-01T09:29:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T14:29:08","slug":"washington-commanders-running-back-placed-on-ir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/01\/washington-commanders-running-back-placed-on-ir\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Commanders Running Back Placed On IR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although the Washington Commanders have had a good season so far, the team has been hit by the injury bug numerous times. Now, one of the Commanders&#8217; running backs is being placed on injured reserve.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Commanders Place Running Back On IR<\/h3>\n<p>Austin Ekeler, the first-year running back with the Washington Commanders, has been placed on injured reserve following a concussion suffered during a game against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/11\/21\/dallas-cowboys-offense-3rd-quarter-struggles\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>. This setback is significant for the Commanders, as Ekeler has been a vital piece of their offense. He has contributed both in the air and on the ground.<\/p>\n<h3>Production<\/h3>\n<p>Ekeler\u2019s stats reflect his importance. He is the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/11\/29\/worrisome-commanders-encounter-titans-three-in-week-13\/\" target=\"_self\">Commanders&#8217;<\/a> third-leading rusher and fourth-leading receiver. Ekeler has totaled <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/team\/stats\/_\/name\/wsh\/washington-commanders\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">701 yards<\/a> on the season, trailing only wide receiver Terry McLaurin in overall yards. His versatility as a dual-threat back has provided quarterback Jayden Daniels with a reliable safety valve. His ability to execute both through the air and on the ground has been pivotal. Without Ekeler, Washington will need to get more creative on offense.<\/p>\n<h3>Next Man Up<\/h3>\n<p>In Ekeler&#8217;s absence, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/11\/14\/washington-commanders-injury-updates\/\" target=\"_self\">Brian Robinson Jr<\/a>. is expected to shoulder the bulk of the rushing workload. Robinson, a strong and consistent runner, has already been a key part of the Commanders&#8217; ground game. Jeremy McNichols may also be called upon to contribute. This is especially in passing situations where Ekeler\u2019s skill set will be missed the most.<\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s Next?<\/h3>\n<p>For the Commanders, this injury comes at a pivotal time in their season. The team has lost their last three games including to a slumping Cowboys team. Washington will need creative adjustments to maintain their offensive efficiency and competitiveness in the NFC playoff race. Ekeler\u2019s IR designation is a cause for concern for fantasy football managers as well. Look to add some running back depth through the waiver wire.<\/p>\n<p>The Commanders host the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. Look for the team to feature Brian Robinson Jr. a lot on the ground as well as utilizing quarterback Jayden Daniels&#8217; legs.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: Amber Searls-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although the Washington Commanders have had a good season so far, the team has been hit by the injury bug numerous times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5262,"featured_media":202987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,8896],"tags":[3135,32676,49,32192,8727,58,4687],"class_list":["post-202970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-washington-commanders","tag-austin-ekeler","tag-brian-robinson-jr","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-jayden-daniels","tag-jeremy-mcnichols","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-terry-mclaurin"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}