A somewhat startling development occurred at Commanders practice Tuesday when starting running back Antonio Gibson was spotted getting some reps with the third-string offense and special teams unit.
This comes after Gibson, who fumbled six times last season, put the ball on the turf in the first quarter of Washington's preseason opener last Saturday. Is Gibson in the doghouse? Or, with final roster cuts only two weeks out, should Gibson have even bigger concerns?
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera would clarify to reporters that Gibson practiced with the first-, second- and third-team offenses and that third-round pick Brian Robinson did the same.
What is clear is that Robinson, who ran for 26 yards and a touchdown on six carries against Carolina, is now breathing down Gibson's neck. The rest, like whether Gibson has officially fallen down the depth chart, may become more clear when the Commanders travel to Kansas City on Saturday.
Gibson didn't do himself any favors by perpetuating the fumble-prone narrative he's been plagued with. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner made clear that's become an issue for him.
That may not be the only issue the Commanders have with Gibson, either. After Saturday's loss to Carolina, Rivera publicly questioned Gibson's running style, while adding that he ran the ball much better in the second half.
"He's gotta run hard," Rivera said Saturday. "When he starts to shuffle and goes sideways, that's when he struggles. So when he goes hard — and we saw that when he came back in in the second half, he put his shoulder down and ran hard — that's what he's capable of doing. That's when he's at his best. So we talked about that. I'm very pleased with the way he came back in the second half and ran the ball."
Commanders reporter Pete Hailey joined 106.7 The Fan's BMitch & Finlay and was asked how he would characterize Tuesday's developments with Gibson.
"So, I asked Scott Turner, who was at the podium today, does the fumble impact how you view Antonio," Hailey said. "And Scott took a more friendly approach to it than Ron did on Saturday, when Ron basically was like, 'He needs to run better. He needs to run harder. We teach him this all the time.' Scott stayed more neutral: He knows what he did wrong. What I'm telling you is nothing he hasn't heard. He needs to stop."
"But I do think that the tide is a'turning at running back, and that's an intentional Brian Robinson Alabama pun," Hailey continued. "He runs the way they want their running backs to run and they don't have to tell him, and he never fumbled in school. Gibson fumbled six times last year and once on Saturday."
Indeed, Robinson rushed for 2,704 yards and 29 touchdowns — on 545 attempts — at Alabama while never fumbling once.
"Too reactive to one game, especially an exhibition game?" Hailey said. "And I try not to be in most cases. But I am going to be overly reactive on Saturday. I think that was the one thing Gibson could not afford to do. He did it. His backup looked a lot better, a lot more sure of himself, and I think that's going to really influence how this running back board gets used. I think Robinson is the lead dog, the favorite to lead the team in carries at Pete Hailey Sportsbook."
