3. Samaje Perine
Perine was a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2017 and showed flashes his rookie year. Unfortunately, he did little to show Washington that running back was not still a position of need. Perine had fumbling issues, dropped a few passes when given opportunities and struggled in pass protection, too. Some of that was due to the style of offense in which he played in college.
At times last year, Perine looked like a capable NFL starting running back. However, injuries to Perine’s starting offensive line and himself derailed any potential opportunities he could have used in separating himself from Kelley and the other backs.
In Week 2 of the preseason, Perine had a big run and then went down with an ankle injury. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious and cost him just one preseason game and he’s on track to return for the preseason finale at Baltimore. Perine and Kelley will be getting several carries and while both could make the roster, they could also be battling for one final spot in the backfield, too.
Perine should be on Washington’s final roster. That doesn’t mean he will, though, and could use a big game to show everyone why he was a fourth-round pick just one year ago.