The Commanders are in a possibly tough spot Sunday against the Cardinals.
Austin Ekeler and Jamison Crowder were both ruled out this week by Commanders’ Head Coach Dan Quinn. Crowder was the primary punt returner for the 2023 team, while Ekeler has been the leading kickoff returner in 2024.
Even more, Ekeler returned the opening kickoff against the Giants in Week 2 for a touchdown; however, it was called back due to a penalty. Proving it wasn’t luck, in Week 3, Ekeler took the second-half opening kickoff 62 yards.
Would have been a lot cooler if this Austin Ekeler kick return TD counted pic.twitter.com/QS3tpwtVFv
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 16, 2024
With Ekeler and Crowder unavailable for Sunday, who will return the punts and kicks? Friday, when Quinn was asked about this by the press, here is how the head coach responded.
“Yes, (WR) Olamide (Zacchaeus) will be one. (WR) Luke’s (McCaffrey) been getting back there. On the kick return side, we’ve certainly worked with J-Mic (Jeremy McNichols), Noah’s (Igbinoghene) done that. So in that way, we are not going to replace Austin (Ekeler).”
Quinn then summed up this issue with his philosophy during the long, hot days of training camp and preseason.
“However, when you do have a big, deep crew, you do work a lot of guys. When these situations come up, you need to be ready for it. So through practices and preseason games, gaining that experience is really important.”