The Washington Redskins waived running back Kapri Bibbs over the weekend in a controversial move. Washington had an influx at running back with both Chris Thompson and Byron Marshall returning from injury, however, Bibbs had performed well in their absence, scoring four touchdowns (second-most on team) on 33 touches and 203 yards.
The Redskins had hoped to sign the 25-year old back to their practice squad once he cleared waivers, according to JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington. However, Bibbs was claimed by the Green Bay Packers, ending his time with Washington.
Redskins head coach Jay Gruden explained the reasoning for choosing to waive Bibbs over other options such as Marshall and Samaje Perine in an interview with Redskins Talk podcast.
“You know Bibbs is a good player. I didn’t release him because he’s a poor player,” Gruden said. “Perine right now is Adrian Peterson’s backup. That’s the way it is. We dress one 1st/2nd-down back throughout the game and that’s Adrian. Chris is our 3rd-down back and obviously 2nd-and-long get back on track back. The next guy I like to have is a backup to both of them kind of, and that’s Bibbs and Marshall. And Marshall, to me in preseason, showed a lot of flash, a lot of speed, he’s a little bit better on special teams although he missed the tackle the other day.”
It’s a rational explanation when breaking down how the Redskins assess the running back position. However, it still does not dispute the fact Bibbs is a talented running back.
Marshall may be the better balanced option, but he has struggled to stay on the field with injury. In roughly two seasons, Marshall has been on injured reserve twice with the Redskins. While Marshall has showed “a lot of flash” according to Gruden he has lacked the explosive play that Bibbs tends to make receiving or carry the football thus far. Granted, he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities as Bibbs, but that goes back to the injury factor.
As far as special teams, Marshall is certainly the better returner in comparison with Bibbs. But special teams as a whole is debatable. Bibbs has made plays on special teams in punt coverage, Marshall at least on Sunday did not as he whiffed by taking out the lead blocker instead of the rolling Dede Westbrook, who returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown.
Perine has been seemingly in the dog house since fumbling in the preseason, losing any chance of being the Redskins’ featured back. Adrian Peterson has been amazing for the most part this season compared to the Redskins’ other options. Bibbs doesn’t quite fit the featured back role. However, for the sake of being critical, couldn’t Marshall, who Gruden praise more be a better fit to back up Peterson while Bibbs backs up Thompson?
Even if that meant Bibbs would be inactive on Sundays in favor of Thompson filling both the backup featured back and third-down back roles, just to retain Bibbs on the roster.
It all depends. Gruden’s explanation is rational to say the least, but questions still remain about the decision to waive Bibbs. He was a young asset to a position that has a lot of uncertainty going into this off-season.
Peterson has 1,123 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns on 240 touches. He is well on his way to a 1,000 yard rushing season. However, he is 33, and he has shown his age at times this season despite being the best option the Redskins have. Guice is set to return, but he did suffer a torn ACL and had to battle through a post-op infection and three additional procedures that delayed his rehab by two months.
Thompson is amazing when healthy but he is injury prone. He has had various injuries throughout his collegiate and NFL career and has missed six games due to injury in each of the past two seasons. While the draft can provide some options, having an option like Bibbs — much like they did in training camp — can provide some insurance against the uncertainty of the position.
