Washington Commanders’ rookie running back Brian Robinson, Jr. is officially set to make his NFL debut for the team in their Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans a month after being shot in an attempted robbery.
On Saturday morning, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that Robinson, Jr.’s winding road to play in his first NFL regular season game has come to a close, and he will be suiting up for the team’s home matchup on Sunday afternoon.
“The Commanders are activating rookie RB Brian Robinson Jr. from the non-football injury list and he’ll play against the Titans. A remarkable recovery story just gets better.”
Update on Brian robinson, jr.’s availability
After a strong showing in his first training camp as a member of the Commanders roster, the third-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft rushed 14 times for 57 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. However, Robinson was the victim of an armed robbery attempt a little over a week before the start of the NFL season and the Alabama University standout was reportedly shot twice in the lower body.
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Fortunately for him, not only were the wounds not life-threatening, but they did not sideline him for his rookie season. In recent weeks the 23-year-old’s rapid recovery has been impressive as he returned to the team facility late last month, and to practice earlier this week. Now, he will make his NFL debut and is likely to get a lot of opportunities right away.
Brian Robinson gives Washington Commanders’ offense a much-needed boost in Week 5
The Commanders’ offense had a strong start to the 2022 season but quickly has fallen back to Earth. They scored 28 and 27 points in their first two games, but have only managed 18 points combined in the two following games against the Eagles and Cowboys. It must be mentioned both of those NFC East rivals have two of the better defenses in the NFL so far this season.
While starting quarterback Carson Wentz hasn’t been good in recent weeks, the Washington passing attack has still been better than the running game. Over the last two Sundays, starting running back Antonio Gibson has rushed for 50 yards or less in each game. It is hard to expect Robinson, Jr. to come in and completely change everything for the running attack in Week 5, after limited practice time over the last month and a half. Nevertheless, it isn’t unreasonable to think he can improve things with his pure talent.
The Tennessee Titans have a forecast 54% chance to win against The Washington Commanders with a spread of -1.5/1.5 and an over/under of 42.5. The Tennessee Titans are 0 – 0 against The Washington Commanders in the 2022-23 Season.— Sunday, October 09th Tennessee Titans @ Washington Commanders
Robinson, Jr. can’t make things much worse and was actually viewed as a strong candidate to get the bulk of the rushing attempts heading into the season. In his final season at Alabama, Robinson, Jr. rushed for 1,343 and 14 touchdowns. He also caught 35 passes for 296 yards and two more TDs.