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Why Samaje Perine over Rob Kelley should be an easy choice for the Redskins

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 24: Running back Samaje Perine #32 of the Washington Redskins is tackled by inside linebacker Todd Davis #51 of the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 24: Running back Samaje Perine #32 of the Washington Redskins is tackled by inside linebacker Todd Davis #51 of the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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There has been a lot of talk about the Washington Redskins picking either Samaje Perine or Rob Kelley for their 53-man roster. Realistically, that shouldn’t even be a conversation.

As of the moment, it doesn’t seem like both Samaje Perine and Rob Kelley will make the final roster. The Redskins, and Jay Gruden, in particular, seem content to keep four running backs this offseason. As of right now, two are locks: Derrius Guice and Chris Thompson.

At the beginning of the offseason, it seemed possible that both Perine and Kelley could make the roster, but the Redskins are likely to keep a true backup to Thompson this year. The receiving backs Byron Marshall, Kapri Bibbs, and Martez Carter are all fighting for that role, and it appears that Marshall has the upper hand right now. So, with one of those players likely to occupy the fourth running back role, Perine and Kelley will duke it out for the No. 3 job.

However, if that ends up being the competition, the choice should be easy for the Redskins. Perine should be the choice over Kelley barring a massive change during training camp.

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As a rookie, Perine had some solid showings. The fourth-round pick earned the starting role halfway through the 2017 season after Kelley suffered an injury. Perine fared well in his first couple of starts before tapering off down the stretch. All told, he had back-to-back 100-yard games and appeared to have the makings of a good power/short yardage back in the NFL.

For those pointing at Perine’s lackluster stat line (175 carries, 603 yards, 3.4 yards per carry, and one touchdown) that is a sensible argument. However, it has to be noted that the line Perine was running behind was far from full strength, as the Redskins were decimated by injuries by the time he got on the field. That definitely cost him some potential yardage, and it stands to reason that he would improve with better blocking.

It’s also worth noting that Perine is three years younger than Kelley, and that factor can’t be underestimated given the short shelf life of running backs, especially the very physical ones.

As for Kelley, there’s no doubting that he can be a quality backup option. In his first year with the Redskins as an undrafted free agent, he ran for 704 yards and six scores and always was able to gain a few yards on every carry.

However, he regressed badly in his second season, dealing with numerous injuries and averaging 3.1 yards per carry. Even worse, in his final five games, he only totaled 86 yards on 40 carries (2.15 yards per carry). And when he was on the field, he looked sluggish and lacked explosive ability. Perine isn’t particularly explosive either, but his vision is better than Kelley’s and he will have a chance to improve with another year in the NFL.

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Kelley and Perine aren’t too different from each other. I’ll admit that. But even if all things were equal, Perine is younger and has more upside than Kelley. That’s not to say that Kelley can’t be a good backup on an NFL team, but Perine is just a better fit right now. Perine should earn the backup role for the Redskins and unless Kelley vastly outperforms him in the preseason, nothing will change that.

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