Jaret Patterson

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC East

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These CommandersCowboys, Eagles and Giants moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s NFC East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Dallas Cowboys

Signed to practice squad:

New York Giants

Signed:

Released:

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Philadelphia Eagles

Claimed: 

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Washington Commanders

Released:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Commanders Move Down To 53, Keep RB Brian Robinson On Active Roster

Teams have until 3pm CT to trim their rosters to the regular-season 53-man limit. The Commanders have done so but did it without moving Brian Robinson off the roster.

Shot twice in the lower body Sunday, Robinson underwent surgery. Ron Rivera also expressed optimism the third-round rookie could play this season. Washington is following through on these hopes, keeping the rookie running back on its active roster. Here are the moves the Commanders made to reach the 53-man max Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

By keeping Robinson on their active roster, the Commanders opened the door to him not only playing in 2022. The team needed to carry the Alabama product through to its 53-man roster today in order to place him on short-term IR. An IR placement today would have ended Robinson’s season.

One of the gunshot wounds Robinson sustained hit his knee, but the bullet did not seriously damage ligaments, tendons or bone, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (video link). It is not a lock Robinson returns this season, per Garafolo, but the team is keeping its options open.

Robinson playing as a rookie would be obviously be a remarkable development. Prior to being shot, the Day 2 draftee had made a serious charge at the Commanders’ starting running back role. The team’s primary starter over the past two seasons, Antonio Gibson, remains on the roster, as do J.D. McKissic and Jonathan Williams. Robinson being moved to IR later this week will sideline him for at least four games — likely much longer, in this case — but allow him to return later this season, should he be cleared to do so.

The Chiefs, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter), also submitted a claim for Blanton recently, when the Rams waived him. It will be interesting to see if the young tight end generates any interest this week. Martin has generated consistent interest on the wire. The Commanders, who drafted the guard during the Bruce Allen regime, have made two waiver attempts to land him. The second one, earlier this month after the Jaguars cut Martin, was successful. It would not surprise if Martin is brought back via the practice squad — as several of Tuesday’s cuts will be — but he could also bring more interest on the wire.

Washington Places RB J.D. McKissic On IR

The Washington Football Team placed back up running back J.D. McKissic on their IR this afternoon. This puts an end to a long healthy streak for McKissic who hasn’t missed extended time since 2018.

Antonio Gibson has performed as the bell cow this season with McKissic coming on to give him a breather every now and then. McKissic has carried the ball 48 times for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s shown his usual prowess as a receiving back catching 43 passes from the backfield for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns. The sixth-year veteran actually has more receiving yards and touchdowns over his career than rushing.

With McKissic out, the Football Team will have to lean on the rookie out of Buffalo, Jaret Patterson, and practice squad running back Jonathan Williams. Patterson has seen a bit of run in his first year carrying the ball 37 times for 135 yards, while Williams has only appeared in 2 games so far this year, including tonight’s contest against the Eagles.

Washington will be counting on the three backs as a win tonight would put Washington in the 7th seed spot for a contentious NFC.

Washington To Sign UDFA RB Jaret Patterson

Despite a dominant junior season, Jaret Patterson was not among the running backs selected in this year’s draft. But he has a UDFA deal. The Buffalo prospect agreed to terms with Washington, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

The 5-foot-9 back torched MAC competition in 2020, averaging 7.6 yards per carry and clearing the 1,000-yard barrier in just six games. Patterson matched his 19-touchdown output of his sophomore season, doing so in seven fewer games.

Patterson reeled off an eight-touchdown, 409-yard performance against Kent State in 2020. For his career, the productive back totaled 52 rushing TDs and 3,884 yards on the ground in three Buffalo seasons. He will join a Washington team that has been unable to establish backfield continuity in recent years.

While Washington has misfired on a couple of backs over the past several years, the team did do well to identify Antonio Gibson in the 2020 third round. Veterans Peyton Barber, Lamar Miller and J.D. McKissic are also on Washington’s roster, though Gibson profiles as the leader of the team’s 2021 backfield.