Commanders Make Late RB Addition to Christmas Day Injury Report

Quinn and the Commanders may have a limited backfield on Thursday against the Cowboys | Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With a Christmas Day game on deck for the Washington Commanders playing host to the Dallas Cowboys, they got bad news about the availability of one of their running backs.

Added late to the injury report, Chris Rodriguez Jr. is now inactive against the Cowboys. He was added late as questionable early Thursday, popping up on the report due to an illness.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not a major shift considering it's a non-playing injury and both teams have been eliminated from postseason contention already. But it could impact playing time and the minutiae of strategy in this particular contest.

Full list of inactives for Commanders vs. Cowboys

Commanders inactives

• QB Jayden Daniels
• QB Marcus Mariota
• QB Sam Hartman
• RB Chris Rodriguez
• LT Laremy Tunsil
• LB Nick Bellore
• DT Daron Payne

The Commanders being down their first-string, second-string, and emergency third QB means they will turn to Josh Johnson instead.

Cowboys inactives

• LB DeMarvion Overshown
• WR Ryan Flournoy
• CB Caelen Carson
• RB Jaydon Blue
• Jay Toia
• DT Perrion Winfrey

Commanders late injury addition of interest to fantasy football managers

Most interested in the news will likely be fantasy managers who have either Rodriguez or another Commanders running back (like Jacory Croskey-Merritt) on their roster. Week 17 is the fantasy championship for most leagues, so the margins can be the final factor in winning leagues or going home with second place. Rodriguez was a popular streamer option for managers in need of a backfield option this week, but this certainly changes that logic.

• Need another running back? Check out Fab's other running back streaming options for Week 17

Rodriguez, if he plays, figures to be possibly limited due to his illness. Croskey-Merritt could be a rushing attempts beneficiary in such a scenario, but it remains to be seen exactly how much the touch share would change given the suddenness of the change.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt starting splits 2025

Starter/reserve	Rushing attempts	Rushing yards	Pass targets	Receiving yards	Fantasy points
Starter	13	53.6	1.4	9.6	7.92
Non-starter	8.6	40.3	0.6	2	6.63

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