Chris Rodriguez Jr. has been having a breakout 2025 NFL season with the Washington Commanders. He has started six of their 13 games this year, but he will be unavailable in Week 15 when they take on the New York Giants. This comes as a result of his most recent injury update.
Why Isn’t Chris Rodriguez Jr. Playing in Week 15?
The Commanders have been using a committee approach to their backfield this season, but Rodriguez has started nearly half of their games. This will not be the case in Week 15 against the Giants after he was officially ruled out on Sunday morning.
Commanders insider Nicki Jhabvala shared the report along with an injury update for their running back. “No Chris Rodriguez today. Out because of his groin injury,” reported Jhabvala.
No Chris Rodriguez today. Out because of his groin injury.
Commanders inactives:
QB Jayden Daniels
CB Jonathan Jones
RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
T Trent Scott
T George Fant
DE Drake Jackson— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 14, 2025
Rodriguez opened their Week 15 practice schedule by being a non-participant on Wednesday with a groin injury.
He was able to increase his activity on Thursday and Friday to a limited level, which resulted in him being officially questionable for their game against the Giants. When the final injury reports were released on Sunday morning, he was downgraded to out.
His absence likely means that Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols will take on larger workloads this week. The rookie is expected to get the start and could be in line for a strong performance against the Giants’ relatively weak defense.
In fact, he ranks higher than Rodriguez in PFSN’s Impact Rankings for this season, coming in six spots higher at 28th among all running backs, despite their committee approach.
The Commanders underwent significant changes to their backfield this season compared to last year. They traded their previous starter, Brian Robinson Jr., to the San Francisco 49ers, where he currently backs up Christian McCaffrey. They then lost Austin Ekeler to injury, opening the door for their deeper options to prove their value.
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Rodriguez is an example of this in his third season in Washington, as he has been having a breakout year. His 372 rushing yards and four touchdowns are both career-highs already with four weeks remaining.
He will be unavailable for at least one of them in Week 15. Still, considering he was able to log limited practices this week and receive a questionable tag amid his groin injury, he would appear to have a good chance of returning next week. They take on the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC East divisional rivalry game.
