The Washington Commanders placed running back Austin Ekeler on injured reserve Saturday. The move means that Ekeler will miss at least the next four games, making him eligible to return for the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.
Ekeler suffered a concussion at the end of last week’s loss to Dallas. It was his second concussion of the season, as he suffered one back in Week 3 and missed the following game.
Washington did the right thing, sidelining Ekeler for at least the next five weeks. Remember, the Commanders have a Week 14 bye.
Since Ekeler entered the NFL back in 2017, he has suffered four documented concussions. That doesn’t take into account any concussions he may have had before his NFL career. No concussion is more severe than another. Each time you suffer a concussion, it’s a head injury and should be treated with extreme caution.
So, while the Commanders are in a playoff race and Ekeler is one of their best players, they do right by the player, something that wasn’t always the case before new owner Josh Harris, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn arrived.
Depending on how Ekeler recovers, he may or may not play again this season.
In the meantime, Washington will try to get it done on offense with running backs Brian Robinson Jr., Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez. Quarterback Jayden Daniels will also be involved in Washington’s running game.
There are usually very few updates on players in the NFL’s concussion protocol, meaning it could be a while before there is a definitive update on Ekeler.
