Brian K. Taylor, junior vice commander of VFW Post 4228 in Titusville, bought the turkey at a feed store with intentions of raising him for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving turkey to be pardoned by Titusville mayor MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY, Florida Today via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Commanders rookie reveals the team's hilarious 'Thanksgiving Menu'

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By David Harrison | Last updated Nov 27, 2025 11:00 AM ET

It’s pretty well known that Washington Commanders’ linebacker Bobby Wagner isn’t the biggest Thanksgiving enthusiast. Not because he isn’t into appreciation, but because he’s not the biggest fan of the food staples associated with the holiday.

Still, even those who aren’t necessarily a fan of the food know that you can’t have Thanksgiving without turkey and the fixings. Just like the players on the Commanders’ roster look to do, each dish in a traditional Thanksgiving spread has its role and value to the meal as a whole.

So, as we celebrate the holiday today, we thought we’d have a little fun and share who in Washington is the main dish, and who are the critical sides that pull the whole thing together, courtesy of rookie running back Jacory ‘Bill’ Croskey-Merritt.

“Cranberry sauce? Me,” Croskey-Merritt first claimed. “Because cranberry sauce makes everything good.”

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The Main Course

Hard to argue with that logic, but let's get right to the heart of the matter, and why Bill says that center Tyler Biadasz is the turkey on the Commanders’ football menu.

“He leads us on the offense. He gets the ball to the quarterback. So it starts with him,” Croskey-Merritt says to justify his pick.

The Critical Sides

Macaroni and cheese and stuffing are two critical sides to Thanksgiving spreads across the country as well, and they usually end up next to each other on most plates. So it makes sense that Bill’s choices for these two items tend to play near or next to each other as well.

For mac and cheese, Croskey-Merritt pegged fellow rookie, cornerback Trey Amos. Meanwhile, the consensus in the locker room for who would be the stuffing came down to cornerback Mike Sainristil.

Defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw came away as the stuffing in Croskey-Merritt’s mind, however, a fitting spot on the table for someone assigned the duty of helping prevent yards gained through the middle of the defense.

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Giving Back to the Community

In all seriousness, though, as much as Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we have, it’s oftentimes an opportunity to provide for others who have less.

Even as a rookie in the NFL, Croskey-Merritt wasted no time giving back to the community that helped raise him up, returning home to do so during the bye week.

“It definitely meant a lot to me, especially when I had the Turkey drive,” he shared. “I mean, it was so many people out there, and it was a lot of love and people back home, people around, they just motivate me just to be the best person I can be.”