Team news: Washington Commanders | Page 4

The Commanders ruled out wide receivers Terry McLaurin (quad) and Noah Brown (groin/knee) for Monday’s game against the Bears.

This will be the third straight game McLaurin will miss and the fourth straight for Brown. WR Deebo Samuel is dealing with a bruised heel and looks to be close to a game-time decision. If he can go, he’s the top option for Jayden Daniels. Samuel hauled in eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown in Washington’s 27-10 win over the Chargers in Week 5. Jacory Croskey-Merritt was the only other player with multiple receptions.

Through five weeks, one of the league’s most effective rookies has been Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt — who may be better known by the simple nickname, “Bill.”

A seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, Croskey-Merritt was good enough in the offseason program, training camp, and preseason that Washington felt comfortable trading Brian Robinson to the 49ers in August. But Washington has continued to see his growth and development, giving Croskey-Merritt his first start in Week 5 against the Chargers.

Croskey-Merritt made that decision pay off with 111 yards rushing on 14 carries with two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 39 yards.

Related players: Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols

Head coach Dan Quinn told reporters in his Monday press conference that the Commanders elected to lean into aspects of their scheme in which Croskey-Merritt excelled, and the young running back had a strong week of practice, the story said. The story added though he’s had limited carries in the first five weeks, Croskey-Merritt leads the league with 6.6 yards per carry. He’s tallied 283 yards rushing with four touchdowns and caught five passes for 54 yards. "Bill" is probably a familiar names to those in dynasty leagues as our friends at Dynasty League Football suggested to take him later in dynasty drafts this spring. But now he's officially a useful option in redraft leagues as well. Rodriguez had just five carries and McNichols had two touches, so his outlook going forward is strong.

Quinn said he's "optimistic" about Terry McLaurin for this week and reiterates that he and others -- Noah Brown, Sam Cosmi -- are trending in the right direction.

Having the extra day helps, too, the post points out. The post went on to say we'll find out more later this week, perhaps with the practice report. The extra day could work against fantasy owners if McLaurin comes down to a game-time decision. Coming up with a backup plan now may be a good idea, but we'll keep updating McLaurin's status.

The Commanders have ruled out WR Terry McLaurin, WR Noah Brown and G Sam Cosmi before traveling to LA to play the Chargers.

Related Players: Deebo Samuel, Luke McCaffrey, Zach Ertz, Chris Moore

Still no word on Samuel, so that's a good sign for his availability this weekend. He earned nine opportunities last week, turning them into 81 total yards and a touchdown. He'll be locked into a WR2 role unless he has a pre-game setback.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (knee) was officially a full participant in practice today and is on track to start against the Chargers on Sunday.

WRs Terry McLaurin (quad), Deebo Samuel (heel), and Noah Brown (groin/knee) all did not practice.

Related Players: Marcus Mariota

We'll hold off on making sweeping takeaways for the WR room, but it's certainly not encouraging that McLaurin isn't out there after missing Week 4. We'll keep an eye on things as the week progresses.

It looks like Daniels is well on his way to returning to fantasy lineups here in Week 5.

Commanders RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (knee) returned to practice today as a full participant and is officially questionable for Sunday vs. Atlanta.

Related Players: Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols

Looks like JCM will be a full-go for Week 4, but Rodriguez is still a good stash, in case Croskey-Merritt experiences a setback in the near future.

Commanders ruled OUT Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, John Bates and Noah Brown for Week 4 in Atlanta.

Related Players: Marcus Mariota, Deebo Samuel, Luke McCaffrey, Chris Moore

Missing a top option makes Mariota a questionable streamer for Week 4. Consider Samuel a locked-in WR2 and McCaffrey an interesting deep-league dart throw.

Jayden Daniels is not out here for Commanders practice.

Related Players: Marcus Mariota

Daniels is an obvious must-start if he's able to suit up, but it's not looking good.

Jhabvala followed up by saying that Terry McLaurin is also not at practice, so Mariota also gets dinged by missing the team's top wide receiver if he ends up getting the nod. Deebo Samuel should be considered a WR2 in Week 4, while Mariota should probably be streamed over.

No practice again today for Commanders RB Bill Croskey-Merritt and WR Terry McLaurin.

Related Players: Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols, Deebo Samuel, Luke McCaffrey, Jaylin Lane, Zach Ertz

Still another practice to monitor, but Rodriguez would be a must-add, high-end RB3 if Jacory Croskey-Merritt were sidelined. Rodriguez is surprisingly only 9% rostered in Yahoo leagues, so you should probably go check your waiver wires as soon as you're done reading this, actually.

If McLaurin misses, that would firmly entrench Deebo as a WR2 after he's received 25 opportunities (21 targets, 4 rushes) through three weeks. Even if McLaurin is able to suit up, he's more than likely a stay-away as this is pretty late in the week to be looking into other opinions for his quad.

No practice today for RB Bill Croskey-Merritt nor WR Terry McLaurin.

Related Players: Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols

Still early in the week, but Rodriguez would be a must-add, high-end RB3 if Jacory Croskey-Merritt were sidelined. Rodriguez is surprisingly only 9% rostered in Yahoo leagues, so you should probably go check your waiver wires as soon as you're done reading this, actually.