After Blaming Jim Harbaugh for Chargers Exit, Austin Ekeler Explains Taking Up the ‘Dan Quinn Role’ at Commanders

It seems like Austin Ekeler is planning his next move after football. He signed a two-year deal worth up to $11.4 million and will be the leading on the field for the Washington Commanders. He elaborated on his relationship with Jayden Daniels when he spoke to Kay Adams earlier, and to talk about his future with the Commanders.

After playing 7 seasons with the Chargers, the veteran running back decided to switch sides because he couldn’t cater to Jim Harbaugh’s requests. He has taken it upon himself to improve the Commanders and is not even worried about the playoffs, at least for now. People look up to him as a “vocal” leader, and that’s what he’s presumed his role to be.

“I got to think about getting the guys that are in the building ready to go. And what does that mean? That means establishing a standard because there’s a lot of new guys around. So, what does that mean?” said Ekeler about his role in the Commanders.

The veteran further added, “What does that mean? Tangibly that I need to go do to hold myself accountable and hold myself to a standard? That needs to be established. That needs to be established of how we’re going to work, how we’re going to go out there and how we’re going to actually execute.”

Kay Adams was interested in what she was hearing from the veteran running back as she stated, “Well, clearly, you’re the leader. You’re talking to me. I feel like I’m interviewing Dan Quinn right now,” as Ekeler worked closely with Jayden Daniels. A lot of the time, rookies are not vocal about their wants, needs, and feedback that they can offer to the team.

At one point Ekeler talked about working with Jayden Daniels and how he’s offering constructive criticism during his time in practice. During practice, Ekeler chose to run a play and once the drill, the Washington QB offered Ekeler an alternative route that he could have run.

“What I’ve seen so far yesterday coming off the field, I was running a man-beater choice route out of the backfield and we both saw it kind of a different way. He calls me over, ‘Hey Austin, come over here,’ and I’m like, yes, that is exactly what I want to hear from my quarterback,” admitted the RB in an instance to Kay Adams. Ekeler is open to out-of-the-box solutions and Daniels has a lot of solutions that he can offer.

However, there is more to the Commanders’ coaching staff than meets the eye. Austin Ekeler is reunited with his former head coach Anthony Lynn. Before this season, Lynn was Chargers’ head coach (2017-2020) and has a 4-year relationship with the running back. But the Commanders’ offense is very young. There aren’t a lot of veteran players that make up the offensive roster apart from the TE Zach Ertz. Hence the addition of Anthony Lynn followed by Austin Ekeler hopes to add that experience, allowing the RB to be a leading voice for the team.

Last season, Ekeler had 179 carries over 628 yards and scored 5 touchdowns. The 29-year-old’s football prowess is not just limited to rushing the ball, he’s also set franchise records in receptions in the 2022 season. These qualities would fit very well with Jim Harbaugh’s run-heavy offense. However, Ekeler decided to take a different path with his career, as the possibility of him maybe retiring nears every day.

The real reason why Austin Ekeler joined the Washington Commanders

Ekeler thought that he needed to take things easy from now on. Last year, the RB requested a trade from his team, and he was asked to find a new home, but he couldn’t decide on a team. Instead, the Los Angeles Chargers added $1.75 million in bonuses to his existing deal. That’s after he gave his best in the 2022 season, with 915 yards and 13 touchdowns. But there’s one thing that fans are not pleased about. It’s Ekeler’s reception game.

Ekeler broke the franchise reception record with the Bolts in the 2022 season. Where he had 107 receptions, 722 receiving yards, and 5 receiving touchdowns. He would have been a great addition to Harbaugh’s offense as the former Michigan coach focuses on running the ball like none other.

Harbaugh’s Michigan offense ranked 81st nationally, and sixth in the Big Ten while their rushing offense ranked 43rd nationally and 3rd in their conference. Those numbers speak volumes about Harbaugh’s strategies. Perhaps Ekeler didn’t want to be a part of it.

When Kay Adams asked why the RB decided to leave the Jim Harbaugh-led team, Ekeler said, “They wanted a guy to hand the ball off to 300 times a year and look, I haven’t had that capacity to do that. That’s not my game. That’s not how Austin Ekeler is going to be the best on the field. So, there was a misalignment there which, no harm, no foul.”

In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the running back had more than 200 carries and 900 yards. But his 2023 season saw a decline in carries and even fewer yards. Perhaps this year with the Commanders, he might segue from his career on the field to more coaching-oriented gigs in the future. His experience is what the young Commanders’ offense will rely on in the upcoming season. Also, he might be a huge help to Jayden Daniels, and give him some rushing tips because the QB’s brand of football is very run-focused as well. But only time will tell what Dan Quinn, Austin Ekeler, and Jayden Daniels’ combination will come up with.