Washington Commanders running back Rachaad White’s shoulder injurydidn’t affect a new signing.
When I first read Monday morning that the Commanders were bringing back running back Austin Ekeler, my first thought was something like, “Uh oh, White’s shoulder injury must have flared up much worse after Sunday’s game.”
Turns out the Commanders actually made this decision to sign Ekeler on Saturday. So the signing wasn’t, and couldn’t have been, a result of anything that happened in Sunday’s 33-31 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Commanders GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn have clearly been in dialogue, looking for ways to address various issues, and they feel Ekeler has fully recovered and is ready to go.
You recall Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon
in a non-contact injury during the Commanders Week 2 game at Green Bay in 2025. Unlike receiver Brandon Aiyuk, Ekeler was not concerned with making videos and selfies on social media during his offseason. The few times we saw Ekeler during the offseason, he was doing mobility work or pumping iron, working to earn one more chance to play in the NFL.
Quinn, on Monday, stated, “Yes, we definitely expect him (Ekeler) to travel (to London) and be a part of it this week. A new system for him on offense. But we’ll get him into the mix and see what the next three days look like. It was very cool to have Austin here. A great teammate and one really respected teammate here. So, it was definitely good to have him back in the meeting today. We’ll get him into practice and see where it gets into on Thursday and Friday as we get towards the end of the week.”
Austin Ekeler is back with the #Commanders
— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) September 28, 2026
Here’s some of his best plays with the team pic.twitter.com/UrKTn7mzJi
The Commanders currently have Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White and Kaytron Allen on the current roster. Signing Ekeler brings the running back total to four. Ekeler provided plenty of offensive fireworks during the 2024 season with quickness as a runner, receiver out of the backfield and kick returner. Ekeler suffered a major concussion injury returning kickoffs.
Ekeler will be 32 next May, and remember, Jeremy McNichols, who will turn 31 in December, was placed on Injured Reserve and will miss at least the first four games.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Dan Quinn reveals Austin Ekeler's status for Commanders' Week 4 trip to London
