Who Should I Start? Chris Rodriguez Jr. or Isaac Guerendo

Thursday, December 25, 11:51 AM

Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. (illness) will not be available for the team's divisional clash with the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 26-year-old was a late addition to Washington's injury report, as he came down with an illness early on Thursday. Despite initially garnering a questionable tag, he'll now miss his second game in three weeks. With Rodriguez inactive, backfield mates Jeremy McNichols and Jacory Croskey-Merritt will each see a significant uptick in work. Notably, in the last game sans Rodriguez, Croskey-Merritt barely eked out McNichols in snaps (32-30). However, he handily out-touched the latter 18-10. With that in mind, McNichols appeared to be the preferred passing-down back, so game script may determine who sees more work against the visiting Cowboys.

Monday, December 22, 7:11 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan James is active for Monday's Week 16 contest against the Indianapolis Colts and is on track to make his NFL debut. The rookie had previously been a healthy scratch, but he's getting a chance to play on primetime television, perhaps in a mix of special teams and offensive depth roles. He's taking the spot of fellow rookie Isaac Guerendo, who is a healthy scratch for the first time in his young career. Guerendo has contributed on special teams this year, but he doesn't have an offensive snap yet. Both running backs remain buried on the depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson Jr.