After missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. is feeling "good" as he pushes to be ready to play Thursday night at the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I'm doing everything I can, I'm doing everything in my power," Robinson said about being available in Philly during his weekly appearance Tuesday with 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies, which is presented exclusively by our partners at MainStreet Bank — Cheer Local. Bank Local. Put Our Team in Your Office. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
Robinson said "it was a very great chance" that he would be available and "was pushing for" it to play last Sunday but did not practice during the week and was ruled out on Friday. A week prior, the third-year back went through a pregame workout under the eyes of head coach Dan Quinn on the field at the Meadowlands before he was declared inactive 90 minutes before kickoff.
With the quick turnaround for the rest of the team before playing the Eagles for a game to decide first place in the NFC East, Robinson explained to The Junkies the process he is undergoing to get himself ready for action.
"I wake up and come in and start off by just heating it up either going to see a trainer they put heat packs on it or I get in the hot tub, stretch and be in the hot tub for about 10 or 15 minutes, just stretch my leg," he told 106.7 The Fan. "I either go to the weight room and do whatever workout they got for me, just strengthening work. Then I'm back in the training room and they're just doing all types of soft tissue work and exercises and just strengthen my leg and get it feeling better.
"It's just a process man and we're grinding at it."
Robinson has some experience dealing with hamstring injuries, something he wished was not the case.
"The more issues that I have, the more it just makes me want to get ontop of things early and make sure I'm taking care of things to prevent things down the line," he said.
With the compresed schedule – Tuesday is usually an off-day for the Commanders and now that has to be treated as a Friday, a final day for prep in a normal week – the only chance to prepare will have to happen on the mental side with practices becoming more walkthroughs, Robinson said.
In Robinson's absence, the Commanders' running backs tallied 114 yards on 30 carries in a win over the Giants, but managed just 55 yards on 19 carries in the loss to the Steelers.
"My head be hurtin," he said about having to watch from the sideline. "It's very hard to watch. Much rather be out there, trying to help my team win. But I'm just over on the sideline trying to keep te guys motivated, amped up, juiced up. Making sure that my energy is still showing and I'm staying bright... I'm their biggest supporter and I'm just trying to keep them successful."
Against Pittsburgh, Robinson said the offense was "playing a little bland."
"We definitely didn't come out and play our style of ball," he told The Junks. "We allowed them to gain momentum and get amped up and juiced up on their side and they competed well, they competed back. And we kinda put ourselves in a much deeper situation by not handling our business up front. We let them hang around and fight back."