The Washington Commanders made mistake after mistake at running back in 2025 — a series of missteps that began with trading Brian Robinson to the San Francisco 49ers before the season
The missteps continued as starter Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon early in the season, and the Commanders basically ignored their actual best running back, Chris Rodriguez, instead of splitting carries between Rodriguez and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Add in 2024 leading rusher and quarterback Jayden Daniels missing 10 games due to injuries, and it was a recipe for disaster — and a recipe for a 5-12 regular season.
That’s why the Commanders should take caution with predictions like Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton putting free-agent running back Jerome Ford at the top of his list of players who should be waived before the regular season.
“When the Washington Commanders signed Jerome Ford, it didn’t make much sense,” Moton wrote on August 14. “He has a skill set similar to that of fellow free-agent addition Rachaad White. They’re both three-down running backs who can catch out of the backfield, though White has been more productive … White will likely take on a prominent role out of the backfield on all three downs as a complement to Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Rookie sixth-rounder Kaytron Allen is a physical downhill ball-carrier who could be the Commanders’ short-yardage tailback. Jeremy McNichols isn’t a key special teamer, but he has more experience in that area than Ford, which may be the deciding factor between the two for the fourth running back spot.”
Jerome Ford Left Last-Place Team for Commanders
The Commanders signed Ford to a 1-year, $1.4 million free-agent contract on March 14 after he spent his 1st 4 seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
“The Commanders have agreed to terms with former Browns RB Jerome Ford, giving him a 1-year deal,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account. “He leaves Cleveland after four seasons.”
Ford, 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds, was a 5th-round pick (No. 156 overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft and had a career-high 1,132 yards of total offense and 9 touchdowns with the Browns in 2023.
“Washington is signing RB Jerome Ford to a one-year deal,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote on X. The Commanders add another RB after landing Rachaad White. They entered with only Jacory Croskey-Merritt under contract and now have three.”
“Rachaad White and Jerome Ford give the Commanders experience and depth in the backfield alongside Jacory Croskey-Merritt,” NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo wrote on X.
Commanders Create 3-Headed Monster in Backfield
The Commanders made a huge mistake with their backfield in 2025 by trading veteran Robinson during training camp.
While the Commanders may have thought they had the position covered with Croskey-Merritt and Ekeler, those plans went out the window with Ekeler’s season-ending injury in Week 2.
Now, with White, Croskey-Merritt and Ford … there might be something cooking with the 3-headed monster in the backfield — not to mention Daniels has the potential to be just the NFL’s 2nd quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season.
Transfer Triggered Jerome Ford’s NFL Career
Ford spent his first 2 seasons of college football playing behind a gaggle of future NFL running backs at the University of Alabama, including Robinson, Najee Harris, Damien Harris, and Josh Jacobs, as well as a dual-threat quarterback in future Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts.
After just 151 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns combined in 2018 and 2019 with the Crimson Tide, Ford transferred to Cincinnati and became a star. In 2021, Ford had a breakout season with 1,539 yards of total offense and an incredible 20 touchdowns as the Bearcats made the College Football Playoff for the 1st time in program history.
He followed that up by running the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.46 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“He’s a talented, explosive option out of the backfield with soft hands and the speed to mismatch linebackers out in space,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in 2022. “The pieces aren’t all in place, but Ford could have a future as a change-of-pace slasher with third-down value.”
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Commanders Urged to Part Ways With 1,100-Yard RB appeared first on HEAVY.