Jen X and I took some questions from Twitter after last night's game and we one of the topics was Ryan Toran vs. Evan Royster for the last running back spot.
In the video, I say that it looks like the injury-prone Torain will make the roster, although his role will be unclear, and that Royster will end up on waivers and, hopefully, on the practice squad.
While I am sticking by that prediction there were some rumors going around that the Redskins were leaning towards keeping Royster and dumping Torain. The thinking would be that an injury to Torain is nearly inevitable and that it would be better to have Royster safely on the 53-man roster rather than replacing him.
While I get that line of logic, I think it would be a mistake. We saw the good Torain of 2010 last night as he slashed his way to 73 yards on 17 carries (playing against backup Bucs defenders with Redskins backups blocking for him). He knew where to find daylight.
Royster ended up having an OK night, gaining 44 yards on 11 carries and scoring a touchdown. But in the first half he spent a lot of time slamming into piles rather than making a cut and finding some daylight. And he fumbled on his first carry of the game, never a good sign for a rookie.
Are the Redskins so committed to starting anew and getting younger (although Royster is only about a year and a half younger than Torain) that they would let their leading rusher in 2010 go? Again, I doubt it but it wouldn't be stunning if they did.
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