We're back once again with another of our 'how many are you keeping' series, where we ask you guys how many players you keep at each position on the final 53-man roster. Previously, we've looked at the trenches, voting to keep nine offensive lineman and six defensive lineman. Last weekend we also chose to keep just six wide receivers, meaning we currently have 21 of our final 53 accounted for. Today we're looking at running backs. I'm going to throw fullback Darrel Young in on this as well to save doing a fullback post just for him.
Here's who the Redskins currently have on the roster:
Antwon Bailey
Lennon Creer
Tristan Davis
Roy Helu
Tim Hightower
Alfred Morris
Evan Royster
Darrel Young
After the jump, I weigh in with my opinion.
I feel like I would keep the five guys at the end of that list. Young is a lock at fullback, and we all know Helu, Hightower and Royster will make it to the final 53. I know a lot of you would be happy to call it quits there, but I would carry Morris on the final 53 as well. This is partially because I don't think he would make it to the practice squad without being picked up by someone else, but there's more too it than that.
I wrote a post on Morris about a month ago explaining how I like the attributes Morris carries; and I believe he would be a great guy to have suited up, ready to go in case of injury. When Hightower went down with his ACL injury last year, both Helu and Royster had chances to be the workhorse back, but neither could see out the season without picking up injuries that restricted their play. With Hightower still recovering from that injury, and with Helu and Royster yet to prove they can carry the load over a significant period, I think keeping Morris at the ready would be wise.
The other benefit is that Morris can play some fullback. If Young were to go down, Cooley would be next in line to play fullback, and he might not even make the final 53 himself. If that's the case, then we're looking at moving one of the tight ends back to fullback for a while, which I find hard to believe any of them would be particularly good at.
So how many running backs are you keeping on the final 53? Let us know who and why in the comments below.