ASHBURN, Va. (7NEWS) — Life as a rookie in the NFL is never easy.

There are a lot of ups and downs.

Commanders rookie running back Bill Croskey-Merritt has been one of the season’s breakout stars.

Recently, though, ball security issues have popped up and have been a storyline with the Washington offense. The seventh-round pick has fumbled in back-to-back games.

7News Sports Director Scott Abraham spoke with Croskey-Merritt at team headquarters in Ashburn.

“Making sure I’m locked in all the way. Just doing all the small fundamentals right. All of my teammates lift me up,” Croskey-Merrritt told Abraham. “This is not something I take lightly. It hurt me a lot, but I know I’ll be better for my team.”

The coaching staff appears to be giving Croskey-Merritt a long leash and time to grow. After each fumble, they did not take him out of the game. Against the Bears, he played a season high 43 snaps with 17 carries.

Through six games, Croskey-Merritt has rushed for 344 yards on 60 carries with four touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.73 yards per carry.

Abraham asked Washington head coach Dan Quinn about the fumbles and how they are teachable moments for the young running back.

“We’ve got to give him the space to grow for sure and prove that those lessons are learned. Sometimes you don’t really get to show that you’ve learned them until you’re back into that spot. And so, we want to make sure that, man, he’s still growing, and this is a rookie player,” Quinn told Abraham. “They’re going to have some ups and some downs just like any other guys. And I’m certain he’s made of the right things to come battle through it. I can remember a few weeks back we were talking about [T Josh] Conerly [Jr.] and early start on some guys, and he said, ‘Man, we’re going to fight through it and get there.’ And so, this is no different to me. This is learning, growing and he’ll bank on these experiences, and they’re hard to go through, but it is necessary. It sucks when you go through them, but when you come out the other side, there’s a lot of value that comes with that.”

It’s a short week for the Commanders. A big division game awaits on Sunday in Dallas. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m.