The Washington Commanders are in evaluation mode, but the injury problems keep coming. Veteran tight end Zach Ertz was the latest, suffering a torn ACL against the Minnesota Vikings that likely ends his time with the franchise.
Washington placed Ertz on injured reserve on Wednesday, before preparations for their Week 15 game against the New York Giants gather pace. In a corresponding move, the Commanders quietly handed one final opportunity to a forgotten veteran who's gone way under the radar since joining the organization.
After getting considerable time to find his football legs again, the Commanders finally signed Chase Edmonds from the practice squad to the active roster. The versatile running back knows Kliff Kingsbury well from their time together with the Arizona Cardinals. Still, he hasn't played any football since 2023 before getting called up by Washington once this season.
Commanders signed Chase Edmonds to the active roster for their final four games
The Commanders are at the stage in their process where they are willing to try anything. Kingsbury wants to see if Edmonds has any juice left to give as part of the team's ongoing assessments. How that'll impact the running back rotation remains to be seen. However, it's more likely he'll be deployed in the return game than taking carries from Chris Rodriguez Jr., Jacory Croskey-Merritt, or Jeremy McNichols.
Edmonds was an exceptional performer at the peak of his powers. The former Fordham standout became a highly dependable dual-threat capable of being a valuable pass-catching asset out of the backfield. The best years of his career were under Kingsbury, and for an offense in desperate need of a spark, getting him involved wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.
It would be surprising if this amounted to anything, and Edmonds might not even be active on game days when push comes to shove. But it's an intriguing element for fans to monitor as interest in the campaign wanes considerably.
Although Edmonds is only 29 years old, that's ancient by running back standards if you've missed considerable time. It's been almost three months since the Commanders brought him into the mix. If he hasn't found his groove by this point, it might never come back.
The only way Edmonds and the Commanders will know for sure is by throwing him into the fire. It might work out; it might not, but Washington is clearly satisfied with his progress enough to warrant a closer examination.
What comes next is down to Edmonds. And if, or when, his number gets called, the margin for error is razor-thin.