Washington Injury Updates: Brian Robinson expected to be activated next week; Chase Young targeting mid-season return

The Washington Commanders offense has been more cold than hot lately, and they will get another big test today when they face the Dallas Cowboys. The offensive line will be starting their 3rd center of the season, and Carson Wentz didn’t lead a scoring drive until the 4th quarter last week.

Washington drafted RB Brian Robinson in the 3rd round of this year’s draft, and he was a big part of their plans for the offense this season. He had won the starting job, pushing Antonio Gibson down the depth chart, and possibly to kick returns. That all changed on August 28th when he was shot in the glute and knee during an attempted carjacking in Washington, D.C. Amazingly the bullet to the knee didn’t cause major damage, and he has been on the road to recovery since the shooting,

Head Coach Ron Rivera said that several players who were on the various reserve lists would be getting evaluated next week to see where they are on their recoveries, and whether they should be activated after their minimum of 4 games missed. Rivera said backup center Tyler Larsen would be activated from the Reserve/PUP list which is good news for a team with multiple injuries at the position.

This morning Ian Rapoport reported that Brian Robinson will also be activated early this week. Robinson was on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List, and like other players on the reserve lists, had to miss 4 games. That doesn’t mean he will play in week 5, the team has a 3 week window to have players return to practice and then return them to the active roster, or shut them down for the season.

Robinson was also fortunate as the two bullets went through his knee and missed all the major parts (ligaments, tendons, bone) and did not create massive damage. A source says Robinson’s wounds have healed.

A third-round pick out of Alabama, Robinson did a simulated series this week with the strength and conditioning staff, mimicking what it will be like in an NFL game. He came out of it with positive reviews, sources said.

Ron Rivera has not given any kind of timeline for Chase Young’s return, putting it all on the doctors who are handling his recovery from an ACL injury last season. Young had a more complicated ACL than Logan Thomas who has already returned from an early December ACL tear, but is still obviously not 100% back to form. Young had ACL reconstructive surgery compared to Thomas’s ACL repair surgery.

During the operation, he said, famed sports surgeon James Andrews used a graft from his left patellar tendon to reconstruct the ACL in his right knee. That differs from an ACL repair, in which the torn ligament is reattached to the bone, and often comes with a shorter recovery.

There have been some speculative reports that Chase Young wouldn’t return to the field until mid-season, and that is the timeframe that Rapoport is laying out for the former Defensive Rookie of the Year. Washington has been careful to not rush their injured players back, and they are definitely being cautious with their former star defensive end.

Meanwhile, star pass rusher Chase Young, who is is currently on the reserve/physically unable to perform list while recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the 2021 season, is targeting a midseason return, sources say.