Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson will reportedly make his NFL debut in Week 5 versus the Tennessee Titans in what is the latest chapter of his incredible story.
Robinson, who was poised to take over the starting job in Washington before the season started, was shot two times in an attempted robbery in late August. And, while Robinson was fortunate enough to be released from the hospital quickly, he began the season on the reserve/non-football injury list.
But the minimum four weeks has passed and Robinson is miraculously ready to play in a game, and will do so after just one week of practice. Earlier this week he was designated to return, and now the Commanders are going to officially activate him for Sunday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
While Rapoport notes that Robinson may eventually take over as the starter, he reports that the third-round rookie is expected to play about 20 snaps on Sunday, serving as the backup to Antonio Gibson.
“Just listening to the doctors and the trainers and everybody who’s been in my circle helping me,” Robinson said upon returning to practice this week, per Zach Selby of Commanders.com. “They’ve done everything they possibly could to get me to this point, and I’m just thankful for all of them, honestly.”
“We’re pretty fired up,” Rivera said of Robinson’s return. “And throw in J.D. McKissic into that mix and you’ve got a good group of backs that rotate through and you try to find matchups you can exploit.”
While Tennessee’s run defense was sensational last season and was able to limit Jonathan Taylor to just 42 yards last week, the unit has been a disappointment overall this year, allowing 118.3 yards per game.
The Titans already had a pair of pretty talented backs to account for in McKissic and Antonio Gibson, but add one more to the list now that Robinson is set to make his NFL debut on Sunday.
