Commanders' Brian Robinson: Officially DNP on Thursday
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Robinson (knee) didn't practice Thursday.
Robinson has yet to take part in any drills this week as he tends to a knee injury, while top reserve RB Austin Ekeler (concussion) bumped up to a full participant Thursday. The Commanders will post their final practice report of the week Friday, at which point their respective listings may be telling for who among the duo may be available Sunday against the Browns. Robinson has dominated the Commanders backfield this season, earning 74 touches to Ekeler's 22 and Jeremy McNichols' 10. If Robinson is limited or even sidelined, an active Ekeler, McNichols and practice-squad members Chris Rodriguez, Michael Wiley and Kazmeir Allen would be the candidates to fill in for him.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Not seen at practice Thursday
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Robinson (knee) wasn't spotted at the open portion of Thursday's practice, Ben Standig of The Athletic reports.
If Robinson ends up being a non-participant for a second straight session, he'll have just one more day to test out the health of his knee before the Commanders potentially make a ruling on his status for Sunday's game against the Browns. Fellow RB Austin Ekeler is working his way through the concussion protocol, so Jeremy McNichols is the only healthy player at the position on the active roster, while Chris Rodriguez, Michael Wiley and Kazmeir Allen are the options on the practice squad.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Sits out with knee injury
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Robinson was a non-participant at Wednesday's practice due to a knee injury.
Robinson is dealing with his first known health concern of the campaign, coming on the heels of the running back handling a season-high 24 touches for 113 yards from scrimmage and one touchdown this past Sunday at Arizona. The increased workload may stem from the fact that the Commanders didn't have Austin Ekeler (concussion) available to the backfield. In any case, Ekeler returned to practice in a limited capacity Wednesday, so the status of the team's top two backs now is up in the air ahead of Sunday's game against the Browns.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Tops century mark with TD
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Robinson rushed 21 times for 101 yards and a touchdown while catching all three of his targets for 12 yards in Sunday's 42-14 win over the Cardinals.
Robinson's six-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter started a string of 24 unanswered Commanders points as Washington easily overcame an early seven-point deficit. Jeremy McNichols took over the change-of-pace role usually filled by Austin Ekeler (concussion) and scored two rushing touchdowns, but Robinson saw a season-high 21 rushing attempts and remains the clear lead back heading into a Week 5 home game against the Browns. Robinson has three rushing touchdowns through four games in 2024 after scoring seven rushing touchdowns in 27 regular-season games across his first two seasons.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson Jr.: RBs to Start
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Austin Ekeler (concussion) could be out this week, which should give Robinson the chance for 20-plus touches. He's had two excellent outings so far this season with 17.9 PPR points in Week 1 at Tampa Bay and 14.6 PPR points in Week 2 against the Giants. He scored a touchdown in Week 3 at Cincinnati but only had 16 carries for 33 yards and one catch for 4 yards on one target. With Ekeler hurt, Robinson should be more involved in the passing game, and Arizona has already allowed four running backs to score at least 13.3 PPR points this season.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Could take more touches sans Ekeler
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Robinson could be in store for an expanded role Sunday against the Cardinals with fellow running back Austin Ekeler (concussion) having been ruled out for the Week 4 contest, Ben Standing and Amos Morale III of The Athletic report.
Third-string back Jeremy McNichols took one carry on seven snaps after Ekeler left Monday's 38-33 win over Cincinnati in the third quarter, while Robinson played 25 snaps (76 percent) and handled nine touches during the second half. Already averaging 15.0 carries, 2.7 targets and 87.3 total yards per game, Robinson may get a bit of extra work while McNichols mixes in as the passing-down back instead of Ekeler.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Scores rush TD on inefficient night
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Robinson rushed 16 times for 33 yards and a touchdown and brought in his only target for four yards in the Commanders' 38-33 win over the Bengals on Monday.
Robinson's final line underscores how difficult running room was to come by for the third-year back, but he salvaged his fantasy night with a one-yard touchdown run just past the midway point of the first quarter that answered an early Bengals score. Backfield mate Austin Ekeler, who'd recorded a rushing TD of his own, eventually exited the game due to a concussion, so Robinson could see a slight uptick in overall work in a Week 4 road matchup against the Cardinals if his teammate can't pass protocol in time for that contest. Robinson will attempt to get back on the right side of efficiency in that matchup, considering he's sandwiched a combined 28 carries for 73 yards in Weeks 1 and 3 around a 17-carry, 133-yard performance against the Giants in Week 2.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson Jr.: RBs to Start
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Robinson was impressive in Week 2 against the Giants with 17 carries for 133 yards and one catch for 3 yards on three targets. He's now scored at least 14.6 PPR points in each of his first two games, and he should stay hot this week against the Bengals. Cincinnati has allowed a running back to gain at least 100 total yards in each of the first two weeks, with Rhamondre Stevenson (21.6 PPR points) in Week 1 and Isiah Pacheco (16.1 PPR points) in Week 2. Robinson has top-10 upside in this matchup on Monday night.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Career-best effort in Sunday's win
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Robinson carried the ball 17 times for 133 yards in Sunday's 21-18 win over the Giants.
The third-year running back set a new career high in rushing yards, topping the 105 yards he put together in Week 12 of the 2022 season. While Robinson couldn't get into the end zone Sunday, he helped keep the chains moving as the Commanders mounted seven drives that ended in field goals. Austin Ekeler also had a productive game with 85 scrimmage yards, but Robinson is the clear top option in the Commanders' backfield heading into a Week 3 clash with the Bengals.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson Jr.: RBs to Start
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Robinson scored 17.9 PPR points in Week 1 at Tampa Bay, which was a nice surprise given the tough matchup. He only had 12 carries for 40 yards, but he scored a touchdown and caught three passes for 49 yards on four targets. He'll continue to share touches with Austin Ekeler, but it was great to see Robinson get as many targets as Ekeler against the Buccaneers. This week, Robinson gets an easier matchup against the Giants, who last week allowed Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler to combine for 111 rushing yards and a touchdown and five catches for 40 yards on five targets. Robinson has more than 100 total yards in three of four career meetings with the Giants, and last year in Week 11 at home, he had 20.2 PPR points against New York with 17 carries for 73 yards and seven catches for 59 yards.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Scores TD as lead back in Week 1
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Robinson rushed 12 times for 40 yards and a touchdown while catching three of four targets for 49 yards in Sunday's 37-20 loss to the Buccaneers.
Robinson finished with 12 carries and four targets to Austin Ekeler's two carries and four targets, though Ekeler (52) was the only Commander to post more receiving yards than Robinson in the game. Robinson's production included a seven-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and a 32-yard reception in the third quarter that set up a one-yard Jayden Daniels rushing touchdown on the next play. Washington looks like it will rely heavily on the rushing attack this season considering Daniels led the way with 88 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. While Robinson will likely continue to cede goal-line rushing opportunities to the team's mobile quarterback, the running back's usage was nonetheless encouraging ahead of a Week 2 home game against the Giants.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson Jr.: RBs to Sit
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We have to see how the Commanders use Robinson and Austin Ekeler in tandem, and I'm hopeful Robinson gets the majority of touches. But Robinson's production could be limited if the Commanders are trailing since Ekeler should get more work in the passing game. And this isn't an easy matchup since Tampa Bay was No. 3 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, and moving Vita Vea in the middle of the Buccaneers defense won't be easy for Washington's offensive line. Jayden Daniels will also take rushing production away from Robinson, so consider him a flex at best in this Week 1 matchup.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: New backfield competition
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Robinson is slated to compete for backfield work with veteran Austin Ekeler, whom the Commanders are set to sign to a two-year contract, Kris Rhim of ESPN reports.
Robinson will also lose one form of competition with Antonio Gibson set to sign with the Patriots, but it's seems clear that Washington felt the need to bring in an established pass catcher out of the backfield. Ekeler is coming off the worst season of his career in terms of efficiency, though he did deal with a high-ankle sprain and questionable blocking. Robinson, on the other hand, improved his YPC to 4.1 after managing only 3.9 as a rookie, finishing with 733 rushing yards and five scores across 15 games, in addition to a respectable 36-368-4 receiving line. New offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury could envision Gibson as the preferred option for between-the-tackles work and Ekeler as the go-to-receiving back, but training camp could also go a long way in determining the eventual backfield split.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Gets into end zone in Week 18 loss
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Robinson carried the ball nine times for 25 yards and caught all three of his targets for 10 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-10 loss to the Cowboys.
The rushing yards total, while feeble, led the Commanders on the day, and Robinson also lost a fumble -- although he atoned for it with a one-yard TD grab early in the second quarter when the outcome of the game was still in doubt. The second-year RB showed growth in his skills in 2023, establishing himself as a fairly reliable receiving option and improving his YPC marginally from 3.9 as a rookie to 4.1. With Washington likely to bring in a new coaching staff in the offseason, however, Robinson could find himself in an open competition with Chris Rodriguez (ankle), plus any roster additions, for the top job in the backfield next year.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson Jr.: RBs to Sit
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The Cowboys run defense has suffered over the past three games with defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins (ankle) out, but Mike McCarthy expressed some optimism that Hankins could play in Week 18 at Washington. A running back has scored at least 12 PPR points in three games in a row against Dallas without Hankins. Prior to that, only five running backs had reached that total against the Cowboys in the first 12 games of the season, including Robinson in Week 12. He had 15 carries for 53 yards and two catches for 11 yards on three targets at Dallas, and I could see a similar stat line in the rematch. I would only use Robinson as a flex option in most leagues in Week 18.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Tallies 76 yards in return
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Robinson rushed the ball nine times for 44 yards in Sunday's 27-10 loss to the 49ers. He added four receptions on four targets for 32 yards.
Robinson returned from a two-game absence caused by a hamstring injury and immediately retook the primary role in Washington's backfield. He accounted for 13 total touches as compared to six for Antonio Gibson and led the team with 76 scrimmage yards. Robinson is likely to maintain the same role in Week 18, though his production could have to come primarily as a pass catcher given the likelihood that the Commanders are playing from behind against the Cowboys.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Ready to play
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Robinson (hamstring) doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's game against the 49ers, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reports.
With the help of a Week 14 bye, Robinson ultimately will miss only two games with what seemed to be a significant hamstring injury. Chris Rodriguez (ankle) filled in as the lead runner and had a pair of rushing TD in last week's loss to the Jets, but he then landed on injured reserve, leaving little question about Robinson's role over the final two weeks. The 228-pound back figures to pick up where he left off in early December, handling most of the carries in a backfield timeshare with Antonio Gibson.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Ruled out for Jets matchup
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Robinson (hamstring) is ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jets, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.
As expected after a second straight week of missed practice, though Robinson did at least manage some side work with the training staff. His next chance to play will be Dec. 31 against the 49ers. In the meantime, Chris Rodriguez and Antonio Gibson figure to get most of the backfield snaps/touches, with Jonathan Williams (concussion) or Derrick Gore potentially being elevated from the practice squad for depth.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Missing practice again
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Robinson (hamstring) isn't practicing Friday, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.
He thus appears likely to miss a second straight game when the Commanders face the Jets on Sunday. With Robinson out last week, the Commanders used Chris Rodriguez as their lead runner and gave Jonathan Williams (concussion) 13 snaps, while veteran Antonio Gibson remained in his usual role and took 45 percent of the snaps on offense.
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Commanders' Brian Robinson: Held out of practice
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Robinson (hamstring) didn't practice Thursday.
Reporters saw Robinson working out Thursday afternoon, but he apparently wasn't deemed ready to practice. He's yet to practice since suffering the hamstring injury Week 13 -- right before a Week 14 bye -- and now appears in danger of missing a second game when the Commanders face the Jets this Sunday. Antonio Gibson stayed in his usual role for last week's 28-20 loss to the Rams, while Chris Rodriguez stepped up as the lead runner and Jonathan Williams also got some snaps before suffering a concussion.
