Report: Tentative plan to get Derrius Guice work in NFL preseason Week 3
Derrius Guice hasn’t seen live game action since tearing his ACL in the first week of his rookie preseason. Now, the Redskins are reportedly tentatively planning on getting him work in NFL preseason Week 3.
It has been over a year since Derrius Guice stepped on a football field in live game action for the Washington Redskins. The dynamic second-round rookie was supposed to take over as the team’s lead back in 2018. However, his inclusion in the lineup would be short-lived.
In his first preseason game with the Redskins, Guice tore his ACL and was declared out for his rookie season. The silver lining with the injury was that he had plenty of time to recover ahead of the 2019 season. However, the ‘Skins have been cautious with him and he had yet to log action after two weeks of the preseason.
Apparently, the team is hoping that will change ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Redskins’ “tentative plan” is to get Guice some work against the Falcons.
Note after a day at the #Redskins: The tentative plan is for RB Derrius Guice (knee surgeries) to get some work in the preseason game vs the #Falcons, I’m told. It’ll likely be his only action of the preseason but getting some contact before the regular season would be important.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 19, 2019
Of course, it’s worth noting that Jay Gruden confirmed earlier in that day that Guice hadn’t been cleared for contact yet, per ESPN’s John Keim.
Jay Gruden said RB Derrius Guice still hasn’t been cleared for full contact but he said he should be OK soon. “Just waiting for the green light,” Gruden said.
— John Keim (@john_keim) August 19, 2019
Perhaps Gruden’s plan is to get Guice some action if he is given that green light before Thursday. That would certainly explain why the plan would be described as tentative.
Seemingly, the Redskins are assuming that Guice is ready for the game and just awaiting the clearance. After all, they don’t have any incentive to rush Guice back just to get a few preseason carries. Sure, it would be nice to get him back on the field to ensure that he is ready for NFL action, and knowing he’s healthy could impact what the team decides to do at the running back position come roster cuts. But, they’ve played it safe thus far with Guice, so the fact that they think he is close to ready should indicate that he will see the field soon.
The only question is whether or not that will actually be on Thursday.
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If Guice is on the field against the Falcons, even if it is just for a few touches, he will instantly rocket up to being the top player to watch in the contest. For the time being, we’ll keep a watchful eye over him, but it seems that the ‘Skins will try to get him on the field briefly if it is a possibility.