Who Should I Start? Ameer Abdullah or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Monday, August 11, 8:41 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have placed running back Ameer Abdullah (ribs) on season-ending injured reserve, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Abdullah, who just joined the 49ers as a free agent on July 31, suffered a rib injury in a preseason-opening 30-9 loss to the Denver Broncos this past Saturday. While the 32-year-old was unlikely to make much of an impact this season (if any), it's another hit to San Francisco's depth in the backfield. The team is already set to go multiple weeks without injured Christian McCaffrey backups Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) and Jordan James (finger). The 49ers brought back Jeff Wilson Jr. in free agency on Sunday in the wake of Abdullah's injury to provide some much-needed healthy depth behind McCaffrey.

Sunday, August 10, 10:44 PM

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said he's "encouraged by what I've seen so far" from rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. Jhabvala writes that the organization believes Croskey-Merritt has "the potential to be a special player." A seventh-round pick out of Arizona, Croskey-Merritt played in just one game in his final college season due to an eligibility dispute with the NCAA. He's earned glowing reports for his work in training camp so far. Washington has established veterans in Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler atop their running back depth chart, so Croskey-Merritt is fighting with Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr. for a depth role. He would likely need at least one of his teammates to get injured to be fantasy relevant in 2025, but Croskey-Merritt is a name to keep an eye on throughout the remainder of the preseason.