Commanders rookie sensation stands as lone bright spot in injury chaos

Dealing with injury problems has become a concerning reality for the Washington Commanders so early into the season. And there were more than a few worries around the statuses of some influential figures heading into Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Head coach Dan Quinn hasn't given much away in his press conferences. That's only heightened the mystery, but the lack of participation throughout practices during the week spoke volumes.

There was no sign of Noah Brown, Terry McLaurin, or blocking tight end John Bates. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was on the field in a limited capacity. Still, there were doubts about whether Washington's franchise player would be risked after suffering a knee sprain against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 on Thursday Night Football.

Then, there's Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The seventh-round rookie running back has been a revelation over the opening three games and throughout the summer. He suffered some knee soreness in Washington's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Commanders have erred on the side of caution in practice, keeping him out for the first two days to raise concerns among the team's passionate supporters.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt will be available for the Commanders in Week 4

Second-year offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will be relying heavily on his running back committee in Atlanta. Not having Croskey-Merritt's purposeful style and change of pace speed would be a blow, so all eyes were on the final injury report on Friday afternoon.

As expected, some big hitters were ruled out. Daniels, McLaurin, Brown, and Bates will not be featured. Croskey-Merritt, who Jeremy Fowler from ESPN stated was reportedly kept out due to precautionary measures, got a much better prognosis from head coach Dan Quinn.

Quinn revealed that Croskey-Merritt practiced on Friday. All signs point to him participating with no limitations, but the Commanders were right not to put too much on his plate leading into the contest.