Is Austin Ekeler playing vs Ravens? Commanders RB's status revealed for Week 6 showdown

Modified Oct 13, 2024 09:16 GMT

Washington Commanders v Cincinnati Bengals - Source: Getty — Austin Ekeler will start for the Commanders - Source: Getty

Austin Ekeler has been doing a great job this season in a reduced role with the Washington Commanders. With Brian Robinson Jr. now sitting at the RB1 role, Ekeler is not the same superstar as he used to be with the Los Angeles Chargers, now becoming the third-down back.

But it seems that his status against the Baltimore Ravens could change for the better, and at least for one week, the veteran could be seeing a big number of carries again. With Robinson Jr. set to miss the Week 6 contest with a knee injury, Ekeler will start for the Commanders on Sunday.

Will Austin Ekeler play in Week 6?

He will make his second start of the season when Washington plays Baltimore. He was also a starter against the Cincinnati Bengals, a Monday Night Football game in Week 3 where he scored his first (and only) touchdown of the season.

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With Robinson nursing a knee injury, it was always likely that Ekeler would see out a bigger role on the offense, especially as the Ravens have difficulties defending the passing game this season.

Austin Ekeler's performance this season

Being the third-down back has softened his decline in 2024. It was clear in 2023 that he didn't have the same burst or speed, leaving plenty of yards on the field as he couldn't finish his runs. Now, he stays fresher throughout the games and the evolution has been obvious: he had 3.5 yards per carry in 2023, but now amasses 7.9 in 2024 - a big, amazing number.

His biggest contribution, however, has been in the passing game, as he already has 151 receiving yards through five games. It's another advantage from having fresh legs - when he comes to the field in the third down, he's likely to explode on a big run.

Austin Ekeler has caught all of his 11 targets this season, and amassed 150 rushing yards in 19 carries. This is a player with a lot of effectiveness when the ball is in his hands, and this opportunity to start will be great for fantasy players.

He suffered a concussion this season, which made him miss the Week 4 game for Washington. He's now fully recovered and we could see a vintage performance from him.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

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Edited by Henrique Bulio