In case you missed it, Austin Ekeler suffered what is suspected to be an Achilles injury in Week 2 on Thursday Night Football during the Washington Commanders' 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
If this is the case, not only would this end the 30-year-old's 2025 season, but maybe even his career.
With this potentially deflating fallout, we look back on Ekeler's incredible fantasy seasons and performances with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Austin Ekeler's dominant fantasy football run
The Western Colorado alum, who led Division II in all-purpose yards in 2015, debuted in the NFL in 2017. In his first year, he barely had a role, finishing as fantasy's RB45.
In his sophomore year, he crept closer to his eventual ceiling while accruing 958 scrimmage yards and 6 TDs.
On his peak run, which started in 2019, Ekeler was simply a legend in fantasy football. Per FantasyPros, he notched three top-four finishes in PPR as an undrafted free agent:
| Year | Rush Yds | Rec | Rec Yds | Total TD | Total Fan Pts (PPR) | POS Finish (PPR) |
| 2019 | 557 | 92 | 993 | 11 | 309 | RB4 |
| 2021 | 911 | 70 | 647 | 20 | 343.8 | RB2 |
| 2022 | 915 | 107 | 722 | 18 | 372.7 | RB1 |
(Ekeler played only 10 games in 2020 but he still churned off 933 scrimmage yards in his limited year.)
In Ekeler's 2022 RB1 season, he finished 10 times as the RB5 or better on the week. He also finished as the overall RB1 three times that season as well. Ekeler finished four games with 30 or more fantasy points.
Everyone knows how good Prime Christian McCaffrey was in fantasy football. CMC holds the all-time record for receptions in a single season (116 in 2019).
Remember: 2022 Ekeler is right behind him with 107 receptions with the second-highest mark.
The more absurd stat from this historic 2022 season: Ekeler and CMC played the same number of games, yet Ekeler finished with 16.3 more fantasy points and averaged nearly a point more per game than CMC.
Ekeler lost his top form starting in 2023 but still was playable in many formats: RB26 finish in 2023, RB34 last year.
The former Bolts back truly was spectacular in his prime:
Did you start @Chargers RB @AustinEkeler?
— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2019
Because he just put up 39.4 @NFLFantasy points! ⚡️ (by @GEICO) pic.twitter.com/w4KiFkPpu6
No. 30 remains a much-beloved supporter of and contributor to the fantasy and NFL communities, especially through his recent podcast work on the now inactive Ekeler's Edge with the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast pod.
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Will Austin Ekeler play in the NFL again?
Assuming it's a season-ending Achilles tear, that is: While today's athletes and the science that maintains them are incredible, and we continue to be amazed at players beating the odds when it comes to injuries, it's improbable.
According to the National Library of Medicine, 61.3% of athletes who suffered an Achilles tear were able to return. It is also stated that those who do return need a full season after the tear to return to the same workload and production.
With this in mind, Ekeler likely would have to wait until 2027 to fully be himself again. On top of that, there are no records of a 30-year-old running back ever fully returning after an Achilles tear.
The closest we got was Arian Foster in 2015. However, Foster was 29 years old, and when he did return, he played just four games before retiring midseason in 2016.
Ekeler would become the first running back of his age to not only make the return but also produce at a similar level.
MORE: Stay tuned for fantasy news on Ekeler's injury status Jacory Croskey-Merritt and the rest of the Commanders backfield.