Washington Commanders Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Commanders HC Ron Rivera told reporters Friday that DE Chase Young will "probably miss a little bit of time" at the beginning of the regular season, according to the Washington Times. Rivera reportedly talked about the PUP list initially before backtracking on that. It's clear that Young will at least miss Week 1, and we'd bet that the PUP remains a possibility. That would sideline the DE for at least the 1st 4 games. Young is still working back from a November ACL tear that included patellar damage.

Commanders DE Chase Young remains on the PUP list, and HC Ron Rivera doesn't make it sound like he expects the player back soon. “He’s been working hard,” Rivera said Tuesday, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. “His rehab’s been going well from what we’ve seen and what we understand. But you never really know until you get to get your hands back on him. But Chase Young is probably the one that’s going to take the most time. It was serious, obviously, and any time you’re talking about an ACL, it’s just down the line. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.” In addition to tearing his right ACL, Young also damaged the patella in that knee. Young is expected to take longer to return than teammate TE Logan Thomas, who suffered his ACL tear in December. "Different type of injury," Rivera said, in comparing the 2. Young will make for a high-risk IDP selection at least until he's back on the field. At this point, he's far from a lock to be ready for the regular-season opener. We have moved him further down our 2022 IDP rankings.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera indicated Wednesday that he likes the way rookie RB Brian Robinson runs both inside and outside. "He's a big, strong, powerful downhill runner, more so than anything else," Rivera said, per Ben Standig of The Athletic. "He does have a little bit of shake to him. ... Antonio [Gibson] is a little more elusive guy more off the edge, where with Brian, we can take it inside, or we can take it off the edge." Standig had previously pondered whether Washington would lean on Robinson as the primary goal-line back. It sure seems like Rivera envisions such a role for the rookie. The way the coach talks about him as an all-around runner, while referring to Gibson as more specifically an outside guy, makes us wonder if even more work than previously anticipated might be going to the new guy. Gibson is currently working back from a June hamstring injury, which can only help Robinson's climb. The 3rd-round pick carries plenty of upside late in current fantasy football drafts.

Commanders DE Chase Young opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Young is still working back from the ACL tear that ended his 2021 season. He told reporters Tuesday, however, that "everything is going as planned," according to the team website. We'd bet on Young being ready for the regular season.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson worked on a side field on Wednesday as he recovers from a hamstring injury. HC Ron Rivera said they'll "ramp up" Gibson and slowly work him back into practice. This injury sounds minor, but Gibson has had trouble staying healthy over his first 2 NFL seasons. We'll keep an eye on him.

Commanders TE Logan Thomas (knee) has been placed on the PUP list. No surprise here. Thomas is still recovering from December injuries to his ACL, MCL, lateral meniscus and medial meniscus. We're expecting him to start the season on the reserve PUP list and miss at least the first 4 weeks.

Commanders RB Antonio Gibson has dropped 7 pounds and several points from his body-fat percentage with the help of a dietician and a physiotherapist this offseason. Gibson says he played last year around 235 pounds -- 10 pounds heavier than he'd like. "I’m so used to being twitchy … and I feel like I lost a good bit of that," Gibson said. "So I wanted to cut some weight and get back to that and show people what I’m really capable of.” Gibson faces lots of touch competition this season after Washington re-signed RB J.D. McKissic and drafted RB Brian Robinson. But his ADP has sunk into the late 5th round of recent FFPC drafts.

No more holdout worries for WR Terry McLaurin. He and the Commanders agreed to a 3-year, $70 million contract extension on Tuesday. That tacks on to the final year of his rookie deal to keep McLaurin signed through the 2025 season. He'll be 30 at that point. The 2019 3rd-rounder has opened his career with WR30, WR20 and WR36 finishes in PPR points per game -- despite often dealing with poor QB play. It's arguable whether Carson Wentz will stabilize that situation. McLaurin sits in mid-range WR2 territory in our 2022 rankings.

The Athletic's Ben Standig wonders whether rookie Brian Robinson will replace Antonio Gibson as the Commanders' goal-line back this season. "Washington selected running back Brian Robinson to be a between-the-tackles hammer," Standig writes. "It will be interesting to see whether Robinson or Antonio Gibson, who remains the lead back, handles goal-line/short-yardage situations. Often the rookie gets eased into such scenarios, but Gibson’s penchant for fumbles combined with Robinson’s ball security and interior running could flip this toward the Alabama alum." Gibson coughed it up 6 times last season and was just-ok near the goal line, converting 5 of 12 carries inside the 5-yard line into TDs. Robinson has 5 pounds on Gibson and scored 14 times on the ground at Alabama last year. Usage in Washington's backfield will be worth monitoring closely in training camp and preseason action.

Commanders TE Logan Thomas revealed more about the knee injury that he suffered this past December. "With my knee, the reports came out but they didn't tell the full story," Thomas said. "I did ACL, MCL and both my [lateral and medial] meniscus." We knew that Thomas tore his ACL and MCL, but the meniscus damage is new information. Thomas added that he's hoping to play Week 1 but admitted that the timeline he was given would have him back "somewhere around Week 4." We'll monitor his progress this summer.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Commanders WR Terry McLaurin plans to miss this week's mandatory minicamp. The 4th-year wideout is looking for a new contract, as he heads into the final year of his rookie deal. Beyond the fine that will come with holding out, McLaurin will be missing practice time with new QB Carson Wentz. His absence will also afford extra reps for WRs such as rookie Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel and Cam Sims. We'll see how this situation develops. For now, we're not adjusting our outlook for McLaurin -- who just might be getting the best QB of his career to date.

Commanders WR Curtis Samuel is participating in this week's OTAs. That's notable because he was available for only 84 snaps all last season due to a lingering groin injury that required offseason surgery. “I’m great," Samuel told reporters Tuesday. "Y’all saw me flying around out there." Samuel faces added target competition with the arrival of 1st-round rookie WR Jahan Dotson. But Washington gave him a 3-year, $34.5 million contract with $23 million guaranteed last offseason, so we're expecting him to be a significant part of the offense -- barring injury.

ESPN's John Keim writes that the touch count "should remain high" for Commanders RB Antonio Gibson this season but that "his usage could vary weekly." That comes after the team drafted Alabama RB Brian Robinson in Round 3, an addition that has elicited multiple comparisons to former Panthers RB duo DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Keim specifically highlights Robinson's power and short-yardage potential. That could vulture goal-line touches from Gibson, who has racked up 18 TDs on the ground through 2 seasons. Add the return of J.D. McKissic, and it's easy to see the risk factors on Gibson's 2022 workload. His best-ball ADP has dipped significantly since the NFL Draft. We'll see where he settles as summer approaches.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera compared his new Antonio Gibson - Brian Robinson backfield to the Jonathan Stewart - De'Angelo Williams pairing he had in Carolina, according to insider Grant Paulsen. Those guys split backfield work almost right down the middle across 4 seasons under Rivera, with Stewart averaging 10.4 carries and 2.8 targets per game vs. Williams' 11.2 carries and 1.6 targets. We're not expecting Robinson to match Gibson in volume this season, but it sounds like the rookie has a shot to play a significant role.

Commanders WR Curtis Samuel provided an update on his recovery from groin surgery. “I’ve been training and working out, and I haven’t been limited to anything,” he said. “I’ve been doing pretty much everything that I used to be able to do — running fast, cutting fast. I’m just feeling good overall, and I’m excited about it. This upcoming season, I got a lot of goals.” Samuel and his trainer have made it a point to work on stride efficiency to ensure he’s not putting necessary stress on his legs. “Control the stride to make sure they maintain their speed,” trainer Pete Bommarito said. “That’s what we really did. It was just focusing on that. When he over-strides and he can’t control it, he does feel those nagging issues. But that’s not unique to him; that’s the case for almost everybody that’s blazing fast like him in any sport.” Samuel took a short-term hit with the arrival of Round 1 WR Jahan Dotson. The veteran, though, still makes for a fine value pick late in best ball drafts.

The Commanders grabbed North Carolina QB Sam Howell with the 1st pick of Round 5. Howell started all 3 years at Chapel Hill, opening his career impressively with 3,641 passing yards and 38 TDs as a freshman and 3,586 yards and 30 TDs as a sophomore. He took a considerable step back this past season, though, finishing with 3,056 yards and 24 TDs. Losing Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome to the NFL certainly played a part, but Howell also set a 3-year low in Pro Football Focus passing grade. Howell did set career highs with 828 rushing yards and 11 TDs in 2021, though. He has plenty of arm strength and might be the best deep-ball thrower in this year’s QB class. Howell is also entering the NFL at just 21 years old, so there’s upside here. He’ll compete with Taylor Heinicke for Washington’s backup job behind Carson Wentz at least to open this season. But Howell has the potential to develop into the Commanders’ starter down the road.

Washington selected RB Brian Robinson in Round 3 of the NFL Draft. At nearly 6’2, 225 pounds, the Alabama product is a load to bring down. He broke out as a 5th-year senior, rushing for 271-1,343-14 after sitting behind guys like Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris and Damien Harris. Despite 2 drops, Robinson added 35 catches in the receiving game. He drew a Chris Carson comp from NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein, and the tape backs that up. In Washington, he profiles as a potential rotational runner right out of the gate. Note that Antonio Gibson is under contract for 2 more seasons.

The Commanders added Penn State WR Jahan Dotson with the 16th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. He notably goes ahead of Arkansas WR Treylon Burks. Dotson might have the best combination of route-running ability and hands in this year’s WR class. He has the quickness and technique to defeat press coverage and the suddenness and efficiency to create separation. That’s earned him comparisons to Diontae Johnson and Emmanuel Sanders. Dotson also boasts a surprisingly large catch radius and posted a career 5.2% drop rate, according to Pro Football Focus. He didn’t break out until his junior year at Penn State, although he did post big market shares in both 2020 and 2021. Size is the most notable wart on Dotson’s profile. He’s just 5’11 and 178 pounds with 18th percentile arm length and a 22nd percentile wingspan. That figures to limit Dotson to mostly slot duties in the NFL and puts a cap on his fantasy upside. It’ll be interesting to see how Washington deploys Dotson alongside WR Curtis Samuel, who’s played plenty in the slot.

Washington TE Logan Thomas has resumed jogging and was told that he's "a little ahead of schedule" in his return from a December 5 torn ACL. Thomas had surgery on December 17 and was reportedly given a 10-month timetable for return. That'd put him back in mid-October. We'll continue to monitor Thomas' progress, but fantasy owners shouldn't currently be expecting him to be ready for the start of the season.

The Browns traded QB Case Keenum to the Bills for a 7th-round pick. Keenum replaces QB Mitchell Trubisky as QB Josh Allen's backup. Cleveland then signed QB Jacoby Brissett, who would be in line to start if QB Deshaun Watson is suspended.