“He turned a situation that was unfortunate into a real positive.”
It was a frustrating moment for Croskey-Merritt, who was pulled from participating in games after putting up 106 yards and a touchdown for Arizona in Week 1. The only thing he could do was practice, and rather than give up on the year, he poured everything into what he could do to help his team win games. He was attentive in meetings and still prepared as if he was going to play, which earned praise from Arizona’s coaching staff.
It also got the Commanders’ attention during their draft process.
“He turned a situation that was unfortunate into a real positive,” said assistant general manager Lance Newmark. “You talk to the people at Arizona and you talk to him when he was here, and they have so much respect for how he stayed engaged the whole way through the season. He was a great teammate; was a great practice player; was in meetings. It was like he knew he wasn’t going to play on Saturday, but you would never know it by the way he acted and prepared.”
It also helped him stay in shape during the season so that he would be ready whenever he got to play in another game. That moment came during the East-West Shrine Bowl, and he rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown. That performance led to him being named the all-star game’s Offensive MVP.
“Practicing every day, lifting weights with the team every day and just being in meetings,” Croskey-Merritt said. “I wasn’t able to play on Saturday, but I was doing everything that the team did. So, I was in shape.”