Washington Redskins fans can’t catch a break, or so it seems. First, Derrius Guice goes down for the season with an ACL tear and now they lose wide receiver Robert Davis for the season with a torn ACL.
It was expected by many that Guice was going to finish the season as a possible Rookie of the Year candidate but that will have to be put on hold. His season was over before it began.
Guice had six carries for 19 yards in his first ever NFL preseason game. He averaged 3.2 yards per carry and his longest rush on the day against New England was six yards.
After practice on Saturday, running back Chris Thompson tried to hold in his tears but just couldn’t. As he spoke with the media, he wiped away tears and showed that he was visibly upset at losing Guice for the year. “It hurts me. Man done been through a lot. To just see him go down before the season even got started, before he can even get a taste of the field, he was already down. It’s just tough.”
The full interview can be found below.
Chris Thompson tried to hold back tears when it came to talking about Derrius Guice.
But he just couldn’t. pic.twitter.com/fBk2crbaIk
— NBC Sports Redskins (@NBCSRedskins) August 11, 2018
No Outside Help
The Redskins will not be looking for help on the free agency market, per reports. Chris Thompson still isn’t 100% after suffering his injury last season against New Orleans so it leaves Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine with possible roster locks. That leaves Kapri Bibbs and Byron Marshall fighting for a roster spot.
If Washington does want to go on the market, they should look at bringing back Alfred Morris. He was a fan favorite in his four years with the Skins and rightfully so as he punched it in the end zone 29 times on 1,078 carries for 4,713 yards.
Who Is The No. 1 RB
Kelley possibly could open the season as the Skins starter against Arizona. Thompson will possibly be the third down back while Perine’s role for the Skins will be tested during preseason.
The thing to note on Kelley is that he did miss most of last season with a variety of injuries. The workload just can’t be placed on Kelley, it has to be spread out among the other backs.
Perine gives the Skins a better fluctuation when it comes to passing as he can become a receiver and is not one dimensional. As for Kelley, he doesn’t really have the “scare tactic” when it comes to being a receiver, therefore opposing defenses don’t have to focus on him coming out of the backfield.
With the status and health of Thompson still in limbo, the Redskins can’t just give him the ball and expect him to rush for 100-yards per game. Last season Thompson played in 10 games rushing for 294 yards and two touchdowns. In 2016 he rushed for 356 yards in 16 games with only three touchdowns.
As tough as it was for the Redskins fans to hear that Guice was done for the season, the main focus right now is not writing this team off. There will be ups and downs this year and that is expected. The season isn’t over, it’s not even began yet.
