On Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Commanders received some good news. The team announced running back Austin Ekeler’s 21-day practice window had opened.
Ekeler, who suffered a concussion in the final seconds of Washington’s Week 12 game vs. Dallas, was placed on injured reserve and missed the previous four games. It was Ekeler’s second concussion of the season.
“It’s great to have him back,” head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday. “We just got done with our walkthrough not long ago and he’s had great workouts, all the speed of everything, but just to have him back on the field today was really cool. There’s a spring in his step for sure and we’ll go through the whole process today, Wednesday’s, Thursday’s, Friday’s practice, but we’re really pumped to have him back out on the field.”
The Commanders clinched a playoff berth with Sunday’s win over the Falcons but hope to remain the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs. Washington plays at Dallas on Sunday.
Ekeler spoke about his potential return on “Grant and Danny” of 106.7 The Fan in Washington earlier this week.
“There are a lot of boxes that need to be checked with concussion protocol and that, but you don’t really know — you have to make sure the independent (neurologists) are taking their time and doing due diligence and feel comfortable with you getting back on the field,” Ekeler said. “That’s out of my control, so it’s a process; hurdles have been cleared, but that will tell me when I’m able to get back on the field.”
Whether it’s this week against Dallas or next week in the NFC Wild Card round, it appears Ekeler is close to a return, which is great news for quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense.