The Washington Redskins have suffered a significant blow with the season-ending knee injury rookie running back Derrius Guice suffered in their preseason opener. The second-round pick was expected to play an important role in the Redskins backcourt this season, but that will obviously no longer be the case.
However, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden believes the team does not need to bring in another back to replace Guice as the team has enough options already on the roster to make up for his loss.
“We're OK. [Guice] was sixth string on the depth chart,” Gruden said Saturday, joking about the Redskins' initial preseason depth chart, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “We have guys here that can play. We drafted Derrius because he was the best player we thought at the time of the draft, and we thought he could really help our football team, not because we weren't satisfied with the backs we have.
“We thought he'd be a heck of a player for us. With Rob (Kelley) and Samaje (Perine) and what Byron (Marshall) did the other night, the flashes he showed, and obviously Chris Thompson, Kapri Bibbs had a couple big hits. I think we're pretty good at the running back spot.”
The Redskins do still possess a good number of running backs even with Guice gone. They still have last year’s leading rusher, Samaje Perine, as well as their top rusher of 2016 in Rob Kelley. Kapri Bibbs and Byron Marshall will both compete for touches, while Chris Thompson, who is primarily their pass-catching back, can also chip in with some carries.
But while Gruden has publicly placed his faith in his remaining RBs right now, that doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of the Redskins exploring other running back options in the future if none in the current crop can step up. If so, there are still some big-name veteran options available with Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, and even former Redskin Alfred Morris.
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