Will Brian Robinson be available for the Commanders in Week 5?
Game status: Brian Robinson is ACTIVE for Week 5.
The Washington Commanders will hope to have their starting running back available on Sunday when they take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 5. Brian Robinson has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL so far in 2024. Robinson has been dealing with a knee injury, making his status for Sunday’s game uncertain.
According to Ben Standig of The Athletic, Robinson will be listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Robinson didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, but was listed as a limited participant on Friday. Robinson was seen with a helmet on in warmups and said after practice that he felt much better than he did earlier in the week.
With that said, things seem to be pointing up for Robinson. On Friday, he posted a thumbs up on Twitter, which seemed to hint that he would be good to go. Additionally, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said on Friday, “Brian is trending in the right way, and we’ll take it all the way to game day, but he’s doing great.”
Despite Robinson and Quinn both seeming optimistic about the running back’s status on Sunday against the Browns, he’ll be a player to monitor on Sunday morning and will be a game-time decision. Running back Austin Ekeler has also been cleared to play.
Through four weeks, Robinson has been one of the most productive running backs in the NFL and in fantasy football. Robinson is the RB14 in PPR leagues and scored an impressive 20.4 points in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals. The Commanders running back has two 100-yard games this season and has scored a touchdown in three out of four games.
However, the Browns have been one of the better run defenses in the NFL as they’ve allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running backs. Still, when healthy, Robinson has been a solid RB2 option in fantasy lineups. He’s averaged a steady 15.9 fantasy points per game this season and that should be the expectation moving forward.
Coming back from injury, Robinson may not see the 21 carries that he saw last week, but some of that has to do with Ekeler returning to the lineup as well. Ekeler missed last week with a concussion, but has been cleared to play against the Browns. Robinson should still be expected to play a major role in the Commanders offense if he plays.
In the case that Robinson can’t go on Sunday, Jeremy McNichols could see an increased workload in his place. Last week, McNichols had eight carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns while subbing in for Ekeler. Ekeler has primarily been the running back on passing downs. If Robinson is out, he may get more rushing attempts as well.
