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The hype train has rolled into the Washington Commanders’ camp with Jayden Daniels on board. But the Commanders may still have missing pieces for their 2025 roster. Also, here is one obvious Commanders trade candidate entering the 2025 training camp.
First, it needs to be said that the Commanders have a strong and competitive roster. The group looks much more solid than the 2024 version. But one of the question marks remains at a very important position.
And that’s where the Commanders might still make a trade.
Commanders could deal RB Austin Ekeler
To be clear, Ekeler’s best NFL days are behind him. One of the reasons for that has been his usage. In eight NFL seasons, Ekeler has 1,542 touches. That’s a boatload.
Now add in the fact that he’s coming off an injury-plagued season with the dreaded concussion.
Further complicating his spot on the roster has been the emergence of a rookie seventh-round selection. Jacory Croskey-Merritt could make Ekeler expendable (a.k.a. tradeable) if he continues to flash NFL-ready signs during the upcoming training camp.
Croskey-Merritt said he’s learning, watching, and growing, according to commanders.com.
“I'm learning a lot, day by day,” Croskey-Merritt said. “Those guys are telling me just small details of the game, like what I can work on or what we can do better to improve as a running back room.
It helps his cause that the Commanders’ coaching staff likes what they’ve seen thus far.
“He's working, man,” said running backs coach Anthony Lynn. “He's already a young professional. He worked his way up from Alabama State to get to this level, and that says a lot about his work ethic right there. I don't know what we have in him, but he's learning right now. He's growing up like a weed every day.”
Croskey-Merritt said he believes in himself.
“They know what's coming, but they really don't,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I just want to go out there and show them. That's the bottom line.”
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What does RB Austin Ekeler think about 2025?
For his part, Ekeler said he’s excited to get in another season alongside Daniels. Ekeler said Daniels is ahead of the curve, according to Sirius XM NFL Radio via nfl.com.
“He definitely exceeded expectations,” Ekeler said in a recent Sirius XM NFL Radio interview. “I think that's a good thing, not that I have low expectations for him, but you really don't know.
“So, I think with quarterbacks that come in, and I've been around long enough to know how much they have on their plate, there's a lot that they have to acclimate to. There's a lot, especially learning a new playbook and getting into a new organization. And you were the second-overall pick and a lot of high expectations.
“It was like, ‘Yeah, I'm expecting you to play well.' Now, go out and kind of have an MVP-caliber type season. And where you are competing in those conversations, typically you don't get that from players.”
Plus, Ekeler said expects Daniels to be even better in 2025.
“I think there's even going to be more growth this year, which is awesome because of where we are at with our team and have a lot of players back,” Ekeler said. “He crushed it last year,” Ekeler said. “What I see for him going into this year. We have the same offensive coordinator. And so bringing that into the mix has now made it, so, now when we go through OTAs, Jayden is already on it. He's beyond kind of the rookie mistakes.
“And learning the playbook, getting a play called out slow. He's getting people lined up. We got new guys coming in and he's like, ‘Deebo you are not over here, you're on that side.’ “When you start to see him kind of orchestrating out there, you could tell that there's that growth.”
But the bottom line for Ekeler is where he fits. If Croskey-Merritt proves he deserves a roster spot ahead of Ekeler, it creates an interesting situation. Perhaps the Commanders could send Ekeler and a pick to another team that would allow the Commanders to shore up their edge rusher position.
Also fighting for a roster spot in the Commanders’ backfield are Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Jeremy McNichols. Right now, McNichols looks like the odd man out. But that’s what training camp is for, and each player still has a shot.
