Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson Jr. is set to complete a remarkable recovery and make his NFL debut Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, 42 days after he was shot twice while walking out of a storefront in Northeast Washington in an attempted robbery. The Commanders activated him from the non-football injury list Saturday morning, the team announced.
Commanders activate Brian Robinson Jr., setting up remarkable comeback
The move seemed likely all week as Robinson, Coach Ron Rivera and others spoke optimistically about his chances to return. It’s unclear how much Robinson will play Sunday, or whether he will have a snap limit, but if the game is as run-heavy and physical as expected, Robinson’s hammering, between-the-tackles style could help the offense.
On Monday, when Washington designated Robinson to return to practice, Rivera said he thought Robinson’s approach could complement running backs Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic. Gibson has been the primary back over the past two seasons, and McKissic has received most of his snaps (and receiving targets) on third down.
“[We’ve] got a good group of backs that rotate through, and you try to find the matchups that you can exploit,” Rivera said.
Robinson returned to practice Wednesday. It was the first time he’d been able to participate fully since he was shot in the vicinity of his knee on the evening of Aug. 28.
After practice, in a news conference, he remembered lying in a hospital bed just five weeks earlier and called it “one of the lowest points of my life.”
“I never thought I’d be in a situation where I had to question or be questioned if I would be able to return back to playing football,” he said, adding, “It was just a beautiful day for me, honestly.”
Rivera said Robinson was “a little sore” after that first practice but that he “really responded very nicely” Thursday.
“This morning, he was there and he was in good shape,” Rivera said Friday. “So we’re pretty fired up.”
Source: WP
