Antonio Gibson dealing with turf toe, may miss time for Washington Football Team

Antonio Gibson may miss time for the Washington Football Team.

The Washington Football Team had one of their biggest wins of the decade on Monday when they knocked off an undefeated Steelers squad to stay tied atop the NFC East with the New York Giants. However, there was one dark cloud hanging over the victory, an injury to Antonio Gibson.

On his second carry of the game, Gibson suffered an apparent toe injury and was declared doubtful to return. He didn’t see the field again and his status moving forward became something of concern for Washington fans.

Now, it appears that Gibson will have to miss some time. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Gibson is dealing with turf toe, and that injury could knock him out of Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Losing Gibson would be a tough pill to swallow for Washington fans. The rookie had sparked their offense in recent weeks and was on a five-game scoring streak with eight TDs before he exited against the Steelers. Without him, the team is thin at the running back position and while they can get by, it will be just a bit harder for them to do so.

With Gibson looking unlikely to play against the 49ers, Washington has just two healthy running backs on the roster: J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber. The duo can form a solid committee, with McKissic being the explosive receiving option and shotgun runner and Barber being a short-yardage and goal-line specialist, but the lack of depth is a concern.

Washington may opt to sign a running back to the practice squad in the coming days to add some extra depth in case Gibson’s turf toe injury lingers (as that type of injury is wont to do). They already have Javon Leake on the unit, and he just came off the COVID list on Wednesday morning, but they could add another player just for the purposes of extra depth. There is no shortage of RB talent available on the market, so Washington should be able to find some quality depth.

Nonetheless, they will be a bit thin without Gibson and the ceiling of their offense will depend more on the production of McKissic, Barber, and the passing game. Washington can get by without Gibson, as they proved against the Steelers, but winning against tough competition will be just a little bit harder without him available.

Hopefully, Gibson won’t be out too long, but Washington will be careful with their talented rookie in the coming weeks as well. His status will be something to monitor closely over the last month of the season.