3:51pm: As expected, Washington has cut running back Mack Brown from the practice squad to create space for Michael, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
3:40pm: Just two days after he was cut by the Cowboys, running back Christine Michael has caught on with another NFC East team, signing today with Washington, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. According to Rapoport, Michael will be joining the club’s 10-man practice squad, rather than the 53-man roster.
Michael, who turned 25 last Monday, was acquired by the Cowboys from the Seahawks in a trade earlier this year, and had been expected to get an increased workload after Joseph Randle was demoted and then released. However, it was the veteran, Darren McFadden, who ended up taking many of those carries, prompting Dallas to waive Michael and take a flier on Robert Turbin this week. In five games with the Cowboys, Michael ran for just 51 yards on 15 attempts, adding a single reception for two yards.
Washington doesn’t currently have an opening on its practice squad, so the team will have to remove a player when it officially announces the addition of Michael — running back Mack Brown looks like a potential candidate to be cut, unless the club wants to carry multiple backs on the taxi squad.
It will probably take an injury for Michael to get a promotion to Washington’s 53-man roster, since Alfred Morris and Matt Jones have been a solid 1-2 punch for the team so far, while Chris Thompson has done good third-down work.
Michael was a second-round pick in 2013 for the Seahawks, back when current Washington general manager Scot McCloughan was still working in Seattle, so McCloughan is familiar with the former Texas A&M back. It’s also worth noting that Washington still has two games left against Michael’s old team in Dallas, so he may be able to provide a bit of intel on the division rivals.
What mon and dad would name their boy ‘Christine’? Is this another ‘Boy Named Sue’?
There’s got to be more to the Christine Michael story — ie. something off-the-field or something like that. He’s simply shown too much talent, especially in college, to have not received a serious shot in the NFL. The fact that he couldn’t manage more than about five touches per game behind McFadden in Dallas says a lot.