By Nicki Jhabvala, Dianna Russini and Matt Barrows
ASHBURN, Va. — In a move that reshapes their rushing corps just weeks before the season opener, the Washington Commanders agreed on Friday to trade running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick, league sources said. The trade cannot be finalized until Robinson passes his physical.
Robinson appeared to be the presumed starter for a third consecutive season in Washington, but the team had quietly made it clear to other franchises last year that it was open to moving on from him, according to one AFC executive.
The Commanders are trading RB Brian Robinson to the 49ers in exchange for a sixth-round pick, per sources.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 22, 2025
Last Sunday, as reports surfaced that Washington was still looking to trade Robinson, coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters met with the running back and informed him he would be held out of Monday night’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Quinn told the rest of the team that evening.
Robinson did not attend the game at Northwest Stadium and was excused from practice this week, unceremoniously ending his three years with the Commanders.
“There’s just a lot of moving parts,” Quinn said Monday night. “This time of year, those things take place. And so I just wanted to make sure, that’s my responsibility, to let the team know whenever I can so they’re not hearing any information from anywhere else.”
The decision wasn’t for financial reasons; Robinson was in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Commanders will take on a minimal dead money charge from his prorated bonus ($212,255) and save $3.41 million in cap space.
Rather, the move was more about offensive fit and emerging talent on the roster.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has long valued versatile and explosive backs who can run between the tackles, catch passes out of the backfield, willingly take on blocks and have the vision to find lanes before they exist. The Commanders’ remaining rushers check many of those boxes.
The group is led by veterans Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols, and young backs Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. Two others — Demetric Felton and Kazmeir Allen — continue to compete for roster spots before final cuts next week.
A seventh-round pick in this year’s draft, Croskey-Merritt, who goes by “Bill,” was a standout throughout training camp because of his vision, decisiveness and quick cuts — all of which were on display during a 27-yard touchdown run against the Bengals.
BILL 💸
📺 #CINvsWAS ESPN pic.twitter.com/mltwoCHhdh
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 19, 2025
Rodriguez had some big carries late last season and on Monday led the Commanders with 62 rushing yards. His first run of the night went for 40 yards.
Robinson, 26, led the Commanders’ running backs in rushing in each of his three seasons with the team, finishing with a total of 2,329 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on 570 carries.
He did so while playing for three offensive coordinators and after enduring a traumatizing start to his pro career. Two weeks before the opener of his rookie season, Robinson was the victim of an armed robbery in D.C. and suffered two gunshot wounds that required surgery.
Injuries dotted the rest of his career and were often chalked up to his powerful running style; he runs through people, at times carrying a few on his back to collect extra yards.
But Washington’s rushers failed to produce late in the 2024 season, leaving a bigger burden on quarterback Jayden Daniels to carry the offense. So reconfiguring the group this year seemed plausible.
Moving on from Robinson now gives him time to latch on with the 49ers before roster cuts and allows Washington to develop its younger talent. It’s still possible, however, that the Commanders add to the group via waivers or free agency.
How Robinson’s style fits in San Francisco
The 49ers were interested in Robinson before the 2022 draft and hosted him on an official visit that spring. While Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo are one-cut-and-go type runners, Robinson is more of a power runner who, at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, is now the team’s biggest tailback. In that way, he’s similar to former 49er Jordan Mason, whom the team traded, along with a 2025 sixth-round pick, to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. The 49ers used the fifth-round pick on safety Marques Sigle, who could start in Week 1.
Robinson’s hands might have been underrated coming out of college. He was a productive pass catcher in his final season at Alabama and had 36 receptions for 368 yards for the Commanders in 2023. Finally, he’ll likely have insights to share with 49ers’ receiver Ricky Pearsall when he arrives in the locker room. Both were shot during robbery attempts in August of their rookie years, and both had to sit out the start of their first season while they recovered. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer
49ers bolster running back room
The 49ers’ first and second tailback spots were set with McCaffrey and Guerendo. The third spot? That had been a big question mark before the Robinson trade. The team lost two runners, Patrick Taylor Jr. (shoulder) and Corey Kiner (high ankle), in the first half of their preseason game last Saturday in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, rookie Jordan James is coming back from a broken pinkie, didn’t practice much in training camp and is iffy for Week 1 in Seattle.
On top of all that, the 49ers no longer have one of the players they leaned on for tailback depth in recent seasons, Deebo Samuel. Kyle Shanahan has watched his running back room implode due to injuries in two of the past four seasons, including last year when McCaffrey missed all but four games and Guerendo was in and out of the lineup. Robinson serves as protection in case there’s a similar situation this season. — Barrows
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
