Commanders will hold Brian Robinson Jr. out of preseason game vs. Bengals

Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. will not play in the team’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, a person familiar with the matter said. Robinson is a healthy scratch, but his future with the team is reportedly in doubt.

The Commanders made it known to other teams last year that they’d be willing to move Robinson, one AFC executive said. Multiple reports now indicate that Robinson is still being shopped, and that the decision to not play him Monday night was related to his roster uncertainty. Should the team not be able to find a trading partner, it’s plausible that Robinson will be waived.

Doing so would shake up Washington’s running backs room and its starting lineup shortly before the Sept. 7 season opener, and offer the strongest confirmation yet of the team’s belief in the future potential of seventh-round rookie Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt and the versatility of veterans Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols, and third-year back Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Washington ranked third in average rushing yards per game last season, but quarterback Jayden Daniels was the team’s leading rusher. The Commanders’ rushers struggled late in the season as they pushed for the sixth playoff seed in the NFC, leaving Daniels to lead both the pass and run games.

Robinson, a third-round draft pick in 2022, is in the final season of his rookie contract and has a $3.4 million base salary. His time in Washington was delayed after he was shot twice in downtown D.C. in August, 2022, as the victim of an attempted robbery. When he returned, he worked in tandem with Antonio Gibson before eventually assuming the lead role. Injuries kept him from playing a full season in either of last two years with the Commanders, but he still led their backs in rushing yards over the past three seasons.

(Photo by Greg Fiume / Getty Images)