LANDOVER, Md. — With trade speculation mounting, running back Brian Robinson Jr. did not play in the Washington Commanders’ preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, likely a sign that the team is looking to move on from him, either via trade or a release if it cannot find a trading partner.
Coach Dan Quinn said he and general manager Adam Peters spoke with Robinson on Sunday afternoon to inform him of their plan to keep him out of the game. Quinn declined to provide specifics about their conversation or Robinson’s future with the team.
Quinn addressed the rest of the team Sunday evening.
“It’s just a lot of moving parts,” Quinn said. “This time of year, those things take place and … it’s my responsibility to let the team know whenever I can so they’re not hearing any information from anywhere else.”
Robinson was not at the stadium for Monday’s game, a 31-17 Bengals win in which most of Washington’s offensive starters played only briefly.
The Commanders made it known to other teams last year that they’d be willing to move Robinson, one AFC executive said. Moving on from Robinson now would shake up Washington’s running backs room shortly before the Sept. 7 season opener while offering the strongest confirmation yet of the team’s belief in its younger backs, especially rookie Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt. The seventh-round pick had a 27-yard touchdown run in the first quarter Monday night, showing his one-cut ability as he burst through a lane on the right side. Chris Rodriguez Jr., a sixth-round pick in 2023, had a 40-yard run up the middle in the Commanders’ first offensive series.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt goes by “Bill”
Bill just went 27 yards to the 🏠
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Rodriguez finished the game with a team-high 62 rushing yards on six carries. Croskey-Merritt added 46 yards on 11 carries.
Veteran Austin Ekeler remains a key piece of the offense and special teams as Washington’s lead kick returner. Jeremy McNichols re-signed in the offseason on a one-year deal, giving offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury another versatile option who is also the team’s best blocking back. (His blitz pickups last season warranted more headlines.)
Demetric Felton and Kazmeir Allen round out the room and double as backup returner options. (Allen switched full time from receiver to running back last year.) But neither contributes as much on offense as the other four.
Washington ranked third in average rushing yards per game last season — a marked turnaround after its almost run-less offense under Eric Bieniemy the year prior, when the 2023 Commanders ran the ball a league-low 21.1 times per game. The issue last season: Washington’s quarterback was its leading rusher. The Commanders’ backs struggled late in the season as the team pushed for the sixth playoff seed in the NFC, leaving Jayden Daniels to lead both the pass and run games.
A third-round draft pick in 2022, Robinson is in the final season of his rookie contract and has a non-guaranteed $3.4 million base salary. The relatively minimal savings for the Commanders if they move on from him make it clear the value in doing so would be to turn to the future with their young and versatile backs.
Robinson’s time started with promise after a strong training camp in 2022. But his regular-season debut was delayed because he was the victim of an armed robbery attempt in D.C. two weeks before the season opener. Robinson suffered two gunshot wounds, requiring surgery to remove the bullets.
He made his debut in Week 5, coming off the bench against the Tennessee Titans to run for a team-high 22 yards on nine carries. Robinson worked in tandem with incumbent starter Antonio Gibson before eventually assuming the lead role in Washington. Injuries kept Robinson from ever playing a full season in Washington, but he still led its backs in rushing yards in each of the last three years.
(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
