Rob Kelley Out Indefinitely – Is it a Blessing in Disguise?
In a season already rife with injuries ranging from the mild to the devastating, Rob Kelley is the latest Redskin to go down. The team announced that their number one running back suffered a high ankle sprain and a sprained MCL and will be out for an unspecified time. This latest misfortune hits one of the few positions where the Skins have been healthy, if not anywhere near productive.
Kelley’s season was already a disappointment and since this type of injury can often lead to missing a month or more, his 2017 campaign could conceivably be over. This may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Kelley has not come anywhere close to expectations and Skins fans have been hoping to see less of him, especially after yesterday’s poor performance.
So where does that leave the team? Chris Thompson has been a revelation this year and is easily the team’s best RB, but he has a very different role and with only two healthy backs on the roster, they’re going to need to sign another player ASAP. (They could certainly use Mack Brown right now!) Regardless of who they end up with, Samaje Perine is going to have to be “the guy” for them for the foreseeable future.
Perine is having a pretty decent rookie campaign, and has shown some flashes of the talent everyone saw at Oklahoma. His role is about to get much larger and it remains to be seen if he can handle that pressure. With limited action so far this season, the fact is that no one really knows what he can do. We’re all about to find out!