Who leads Washington Football Team backfield without Derrius Guice?

Who takes over as the Washington Football Team’s lead running back?

The Washington Football Team suffered a major setback last week when star running back Derrius Guice was arrested on domestic violence charges. He was cut immediately, a sign of the ongoing culture change in Washington under new head coach Ron Rivera.

Washington was 100 percent in the right to release Guice, no question about it. That type of character and distraction in the locker room isn’t what this team needs. However, this development does raise a serious question. As a healthy Guice was expected to be the leade running back, who is going to take the snaps that were meant for him?

As has already been touched on, the position is still strong for Washington in terms of the quality depth on the roster. But the question remains how the snaps and touches in the running back room will shake out.

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The most obvious answer might be Adrian Peterson after he’s basically filled the role over the last two season. That’s not it, though. AP and Guice were meant to split carries in 2020 with the majority going to the latter. That was the plan in 2019 before Guice was injured. What’s different this season is that Washington has legitimate backup plans that offer experience and talent.

The dark horse candidates to be the Washington Football Team’s lead back.

Veterans Peyton Barber and J.D. McKissic both joined the Washington roster this offseason and both are still young (26) while having plenty of experience in the NFL. And both could bring tons of value.

Then there is second-year running back Bryce Love. Love missed all of last season with an injury but Washington is (rightfully) very high on him. He has great speed and athleticism, both of which could grant him big-play potential and make him a problem for opposing defenses.

Perhaps most exciting is the rookie out of Memphis, Antonio Gibson. Gibson sort of fits in the same mold as Christian McCaffrey. He is a great receiver out of the backfield and, while he’s raw as a runner now, Gibson could transform into something special as a ball-carrier and home-run hitter.

Of course, Peterson will definitely get his carries but he isn’t the one that will be taking all the ones meant for Guice. Barber is solid but will likely be more of a depth piece in 2020. An emergency back, if you will. McKissic is extremely talented in the passing game. So he could take third-down back duties. But he won’t be taking anything else that was meant for Guice.

Gibson has superstar potential but, as mentioned, he is raw. Washington will want to ease him into things — especially considering he barely ran that ball while at Memphis. Yes, he’s going to be a big part of their offense in the future if things go as planned but, for now, he’ll just have flashes.

That is likely not going to change just because Guice is gone. Gibson will get his moments but Washington will probably want to use him sparingly for a while. Have plays specifically designed for Gibson, then go from there. That leaves Love.

Who else could it have been, really? Love has all the talent in the world and seemingly untapped potential. Washington selected him in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft. They did that despite knowing that he likely wouldn’t be playing that season. They also did that despite having Peterson and Guice (who they just took in the second round the year prior) already on the team.

Love is fast with superb vision and elite quickness and moves in the open field. He can break defenders’ ankles and, if it’s absolutely necessary, might even be able to mow through them with some deceptive power. He’s very much a speed back and not much of a power runner but it’s not like that is a non-existent part of his game.

Washington still has two potential stars at the running back position: Love and Gibson. Gibson needs time to come into his game at the running back position. Love is ready to go, though, and Washington should waste no time integrating him into the offense, giving him Guice’s snaps.