Commanders running backs Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson are engaged in a battle for the team’s starting RB job, and Robinson may have a leg up. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes, Robinson has outplayed Gibson during training camp, and the former earned the starting nod in the team’s preseason loss to the Chiefs on Saturday.
Robinson, a third-round rookie, carried the ball 8 times for 31 yards, while Gibson handled just 2 carries for 3 yards (though he did have 3receptions for 37 yards). What is particularly interesting is that Gibson, despite not handling any kick returns during his first two years in the league, took the opening kickoff in the Kansas City contest.
That usage represents the continuation of a developing trend. Gibson fumbled the ball on his second carry in Washington’s preseason opener against the Panthers last Saturday, and he was relegated to special teams duty when the Commanders hit the practice field on Tuesday, operating as a blocker on the punt team and working with the third-team offense. He began working as a kick and punt returner on Wednesday.
Head coach Ron Rivera has criticized Gibson for excessive stutter-stepping (Twitter link via John Keim of ESPN.com), and while he tried to downplay the significance of Gibson’s special teams deployment and pointed out that his third-year back ran better after the fumble, it presently appears as if Robinson is in line to earn more carries than his veteran counterpart. Indeed, a starting running back probably would not be returning kicks, and after Gibson fumbled six times in 2021, Rivera is understandably willing to give more of a role to a player he thinks will take better care of the football.
Of course, Gibson should remain a key member of the Commanders’ offense. Over 30 games (24 starts) from 2020-21, the Memphis product has accumulated 428 rushes for 1,832 yards (4.3 YPC) and 18 touchdowns. He has added 78 catches for 541 yards and 3 scores, which is perhaps why Smith speculates Gibson could serve as Washington’s third-down/receiving back.
On the other hand, Robinson added more of a receiving element to his game in his final season at Alabama in 2021, catching 35 balls for 296 yards and two TDs to go along with his 271/1,343/14 line as a ball-carrier. In the Carolina game, he had six carries for 26 yards and a score and two catches for 15 yards. He looks the part of a starting-caliber back, and he may well get the chance to prove as much when Week 1 rolls around.
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