Commanders RB Antonio Gibson managed just 28 yards on 14 carries in Sunday's loss to the Lions. He did score from 1-yard out in the 4th quarter to save his fantasy line. Gibson also watched J.D. McKissic run more routes, a change from the way they operated in the passing game in Week 1. McKissic ranked 3rd on the team with 7 targets against Detroit, while Gibson garnered just 4. He caught 2 for 13 yards.
In a refreshing turn of events, Washington RB Antonio Gibson snagged a career-high 7 passes (on 8 targets) for 72 yards. Compare that to the 3 grabs (on 3 targets) for receiving back J.D. McKissic. Gibson added 14 carries for 58 yards. His main highlight came in the passing game, as he beat the defense vertically for a 26-yard gain out of the backfield. Critically, he also managed to avoid fumbling. Following a tumultuous offseason, Week 1 was clearly a huge win for the young RB. Next up is a Lions defense that just allowed 4 rushing TDs to the Eagles.
The Commanders kept RB Brian Robinson on their 53-man roster Tuesday. It's not yet clear when Robinson will be ready to play, and he could still be a candidate for short-term IR. Washington cut RBs Jaret Patterson and Reggie Bonnafon on Tuesday. The team kept Jonathan Williams as the 4th RB with Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic and Robinson. We'll see how Robinson's situation develops. At the least, Gibson and McKissic should be in for early-season touch boosts.
Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Commanders RB Brian Robinson is in “stable condition” after being shot multiple times on Sunday. Robinson was the victim of an attempted robbery. We wish the rookie a quick recovery, and we’ll be sure to pass along an update when it becomes available.
Update: NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that Robinson was shot twice in the "lower extremities." He's hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and remains in stable condition. It's completely unclear at this point when Robinson will be able to get back on the field. He's no more than a late-round bench stash at least until we learn more.
ESPN's John Keim believes RB Brian Robinson has emerged as the team's "main runner." That's sure what it looked like in Washington's 2nd preseason game, when Robinson drew the start and out-snapped RB Antonio Gibson with the starters. Keim adds that Gibson and RB J.D. McKissic "will have key roles." This looks like a 3-man committee on what figures to be an average offense, so don't get too aggressive with Robinson. But he should be the 1st Commanders RB off the board in fantasy drafts.
When asked whether RB Antonio Gibson will enter the season as Commanders lead kick returner, here's what HC Ron Rivera had to say: “I think you still need to see some more stuff, but you know, I think he is. I do. I think he’s done a nice job.” That's nice. Wanna guess how many total kickoffs and punts Gibson returned over his 1st 2 NFL seasons? Zero. To be fair, Tony Pollard and Cordarrelle Patterson factored heavily into their teams' kick-return plans last year. But it sure seems like another signal of a downgrade to Gibson's standing within the offense.
The Washington Commanders had RB Brian Robinson in the backfield to open Saturday's 2nd preseason game against the Chiefs. Antonio Gibson worked in for 1 carry on the 1st drive, but his 2nd didn't come until Taylor Heinicke's 1st drive. Robinson carried 8 times before Gibson's 2nd rush. Washington also had Gibson back as kick returner to open the game. We'll see what coaches have to say afterward and whether anything changes for the final exhibition, but this is not great for Gibson's outlook. Expect Robinson to keep moving up fantasy football draft boards over the coming week.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson was working on the punt protection team in Tuesday's practice, according to ESPN's John Keim. This, of course, follows a rough preseason opener that saw Gibson get yanked after losing a fumble on his 2nd carry. For what it's worth, Gibson played zero snaps on special teams across his first 2 NFL seasons. We'll see exactly where this goes, but Gibson is trending in the wrong direction.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson (hamstring) returned to position drills Monday, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. We'll keep an eye on his status -- as well as specific role -- going forward.
Commanders HC Ron Rivera indicated Wednesday that he likes the way rookie RB Brian Robinson runs both inside and outside. "He's a big, strong, powerful downhill runner, more so than anything else," Rivera said, per Ben Standig of The Athletic. "He does have a little bit of shake to him. ... Antonio [Gibson] is a little more elusive guy more off the edge, where with Brian, we can take it inside, or we can take it off the edge." Standig had previously pondered whether Washington would lean on Robinson as the primary goal-line back. It sure seems like Rivera envisions such a role for the rookie. The way the coach talks about him as an all-around runner, while referring to Gibson as more specifically an outside guy, makes us wonder if even more work than previously anticipated might be going to the new guy. Gibson is currently working back from a June hamstring injury, which can only help Robinson's climb. The 3rd-round pick carries plenty of upside late in current fantasy football drafts.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson worked on a side field on Wednesday as he recovers from a hamstring injury. HC Ron Rivera said they'll "ramp up" Gibson and slowly work him back into practice. This injury sounds minor, but Gibson has had trouble staying healthy over his first 2 NFL seasons. We'll keep an eye on him.
Commanders RB Antonio Gibson has dropped 7 pounds and several points from his body-fat percentage with the help of a dietician and a physiotherapist this offseason. Gibson says he played last year around 235 pounds -- 10 pounds heavier than he'd like. "I’m so used to being twitchy … and I feel like I lost a good bit of that," Gibson said. "So I wanted to cut some weight and get back to that and show people what I’m really capable of.” Gibson faces lots of touch competition this season after Washington re-signed RB J.D. McKissic and drafted RB Brian Robinson. But his ADP has sunk into the late 5th round of recent FFPC drafts.
The Athletic's Ben Standig wonders whether rookie Brian Robinson will replace Antonio Gibson as the Commanders' goal-line back this season. "Washington selected running back Brian Robinson to be a between-the-tackles hammer," Standig writes. "It will be interesting to see whether Robinson or Antonio Gibson, who remains the lead back, handles goal-line/short-yardage situations. Often the rookie gets eased into such scenarios, but Gibson’s penchant for fumbles combined with Robinson’s ball security and interior running could flip this toward the Alabama alum." Gibson coughed it up 6 times last season and was just-ok near the goal line, converting 5 of 12 carries inside the 5-yard line into TDs. Robinson has 5 pounds on Gibson and scored 14 times on the ground at Alabama last year. Usage in Washington's backfield will be worth monitoring closely in training camp and preseason action.
ESPN's John Keim writes that the touch count "should remain high" for Commanders RB Antonio Gibson this season but that "his usage could vary weekly." That comes after the team drafted Alabama RB Brian Robinson in Round 3, an addition that has elicited multiple comparisons to former Panthers RB duo DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Keim specifically highlights Robinson's power and short-yardage potential. That could vulture goal-line touches from Gibson, who has racked up 18 TDs on the ground through 2 seasons. Add the return of J.D. McKissic, and it's easy to see the risk factors on Gibson's 2022 workload. His best-ball ADP has dipped significantly since the NFL Draft. We'll see where he settles as summer approaches.
Commanders HC Ron Rivera compared his new Antonio Gibson - Brian Robinson backfield to the Jonathan Stewart - De'Angelo Williams pairing he had in Carolina, according to insider Grant Paulsen. Those guys split backfield work almost right down the middle across 4 seasons under Rivera, with Stewart averaging 10.4 carries and 2.8 targets per game vs. Williams' 11.2 carries and 1.6 targets. We're not expecting Robinson to match Gibson in volume this season, but it sounds like the rookie has a shot to play a significant role.
Washington selected RB Brian Robinson in Round 3 of the NFL Draft. At nearly 6’2, 225 pounds, the Alabama product is a load to bring down. He broke out as a 5th-year senior, rushing for 271-1,343-14 after sitting behind guys like Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris and Damien Harris. Despite 2 drops, Robinson added 35 catches in the receiving game. He drew a Chris Carson comp from NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein, and the tape backs that up. In Washington, he profiles as a potential rotational runner right out of the gate. Note that Antonio Gibson is under contract for 2 more seasons.
Washington RB Antonio Gibson (hip) was limited in Wednesday's practice. He came off the COVID list earlier in the day and seems on track to play vs. the Giants this weekend.
Washington RB Antonio Gibson has been activated from the COVID list. He should be back for Sunday's finale vs. the Giants, but we'll have to see what Gibson does in practice this week. He's battled through a bunch of different injuries this season.
Washington RB Antonio Gibson was not activated from the COVID list on Saturday and will miss Sunday's game vs. the Eagles. Washington promoted RB Wendell Smallwood from the practice squad. He'll join Jaret Patterson and Jonathan Williams in the backfield.
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