When the Atlanta Falcons were cutting down their roster, they made their fair share of unexpected or controversial decisions, such as keeping four quarterbacks and cutting Darnay Holmes, but they only kept just two running backs on their initial 53-man roster: Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson Jr.
Since Kevin Stefanski chose to neglect depth and believed Bijan and Brian Robinson were the only backs this team needed on gameday, the Falcons cut three running backs: Cash Jones, Tyler Goodson, and Nate Carter. And frankly, this decision keeps aging worse and worse.
That meant the Falcons were one injury away from being in a terrible spot with RB depth, so of course, that's how things played out. Even though he was supposed to make his return this weekend against the Bengals, Robinson Jr. was surprisingly ruled out for the Week 9 clash with the Bengals.
It's odd because even though the 27-year-old practiced in a limited capacity all three days this week, he'll still be inactive, as he'll miss his third straight game due to the injury--which means that Khalil Herbert will be elevated from the practice squad for the third straight week to operate as the RB2.
The Atlanta Falcons' decision to roster just two running backs is coming back to haunt them
If the Dirty Birds had decided to roster any real running back depth, his absence wouldn't be as hard to bear, but Stefanski's attempts to get cute and play the roster gymnastics game have backfired. There's a reason most competent NFL teams choose to keep three, not two RBs on the active roster.
After this weekend, Herbert will have no practice squad elevations left, which means Atlanta will be forced to sign him to the active roster if they want to keep him--which will complicate things if Brian Robinson Jr. misses another game--since Jam Miller would be the only back eligible for elevation..
Although Goodson (who likely would've been the third RB on the active roster) and Jones were originally retained on the practice squad, the former was quickly signed to the Dallas Cowboys' active roster, as Javonte Williams' backup. That in itself was a miss since he had a good summer and could have played a role on offense if necessary in addition to being a solid special teamer.
But it doesn't help that Atlanta has no other running back able to play the role Robinson Jr. does, and an inability to replace him falls on coaching.
Without the former third-round pick, the Falcons sorely miss the presence of a change-of-pace back behind Bijan, which is a big reason the run game has struggled of late. All of the weight falls on Bijan Robinson's shoulders, and having a guy like B-Rob or Tyler Allgeier to wear down the defense and help in short yardage makes him that much more dangerous.
With Brian Robinson Jr. sidelined, the Atlanta Falcons are down to a doomsday scenario at running back, and their handling of the position dating back to the summer has been total malpractice despite having the best running back in the NFL.
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