Why not to be alarmed by Antonio Gibson missing practice originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It's been nearly a month since Antonio Gibson was a full participant in practice.
Washington's second-year running back has dealt with a variety of injuries this year, but the main ailment that has hampered him is a stress fracture in his shin. There's a belief that this injury will bother Gibson for the rest of the season, too.
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Yet, despite the fact that Gibson has not fully participated in a practice session since Sept. 24, he's played in every Washington game this season and seen significant usage, too. Gibson has yet to go a game with fewer than 12 touches.
Speaking with the media on Thursday, Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner addressed why the team has been, and is continuing to be, so cautious with its running back during the week in between games.
"It's more of a weekly management thing with him as far as just, hey, let's balance what he needs to do during the week," Turner said. "He's got some other issues as well, but that’s from just being banged up from just playing running back and taking hits. That more thing is just management during the week."
Although Gibson has been on the injury report since Week 2, his workload has not drastically decreased due to the injury. Gibson has recorded double-digit rushing attempts every week this season, including two games with 20-plus carries, the most recent coming against the Saints in Week 5.
"We gave him quite a few carries in the past few weeks," Turner said.
While Gibson hasn't been a full participant in practice as of late, he has been on the field during the week and participated in some drills, too. On Thursday, the running back was a limited participant in practice once again, a designation that he'll likely carry during the week for the rest of the season. Yet, it's also worth mentioning that Gibson has yet to go an entire week without practicing entirely, either.
Of course, Turner and the rest of Washington's coaching staff wish Gibson could be entirely involved in practice. The offensive coordinator admitted on Thursday that his running back is missing valuable practice time, especially for a second-year player.
"The other thing like with Antonio, he's a young player, so he's missing out on practice reps too which just hurts him going forward for the entire season," Turner said.
Gibson will likely be listed as questionable for Sunday's game in Green Bay, but the expectation is that No. 24 will suit up for Washington's Week 7 clash. And, Turner has no reservations about giving his standout running back a full game's volume of work once again.
"It's not so much pitch count," Turner said. "I think once he's ready to go Sunday, he can play."
