Derrius Guice should go on short-term IR after meniscus surgery

Derrius Guice was dealing with a meniscus injury and the Redskins running back has had surgery on it. Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure.

The Washington Redskins are going to be without Derrius Guice for quite a while for the second time in as many years.

In Sunday’s loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Guice didn’t look too spry running the ball. He was lacking burst and only toted the rock 10 times for 18 yards and went into the medical tent at one point during the game. Over the course of the past few days, it was revealed that he was dealing with a meniscus injury and the team was just trying to determine the extent of it.

Today, it was initially reported that Guice was likely to miss 6-8 weeks with a torn meniscus. And the latest update confirms that he will likely be out for quite some time.

Per NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, Guice had surgery to trim his torn meniscus. The surgery was performed by the renowned Dr. James Andrews.

This is obviously bad news for Guice. Getting the surgery is good in the long run, but the fact that he saw Dr. Andrews indicates just how serious the injury is. They’ll have to be extremely cautious with Guice moving forward. Otherwise, he could suffer yet another knee injury.

The best course of action for Washington to take would be to stash Guice on short-term IR, as Finlay mentioned. If they do that, they won’t have the ability to rush him back. They can ensure that he’ll have at least the requisite two months to heal, and he could have even more time if they don’t like how he’s progressing.

In what doesn’t seem likely to be a very good year for the Redskins, their better served to protect their future. And that would involve placing Guice on the IR just so they aren’t tempted to bring him back even if he’s ready earlier.

Without Guice, the team is still well-equipped to have a solid running back rotation. Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson can carry the load for the squad while Wendell Smallwood handles special teams detail. They also have a fourth running back, Craig Reynolds, on the practice squad if he’s needed or the team could elect to sign one of these veteran running backs if they’re truly worried about their depth at the position.

We’ll see what the Redskins ultimately end up doing, but with the team already dealing with a number of injuries, stashing Guice on short-term IR would seemingly be the most sensible move for the team.