After Tyler Allgeier left the Atlanta Falcons to sign with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency, the Falcons have been searching tirelessly to find a new RB2 behind Bijan Robinson. And it seems like they finally found one, and believe it or not, it wasn't Nick Chubb. They signed a better alternative.
According to a report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, the Falcons are signing former Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers' running back Brian Robinson Jr. to a one-year, $2.5 million deal to be their new backup running back, which quietly may be their best value signing of the free agency period to date.
The 27-year-old spent 2025 in San Francisco backing up Christian McCaffrey after spending the previous three seasons in Washington, and as for as far as backups go, he's as good as it gets. Robinson has proven himself to be a solid starter when given the chance, and will be a perfect fit for Kevin Stefanski's more physical zone running scheme.
The Atlanta Falcons are expected to sign Brian Robinson Jr. to back up Bijan Robinson
Robinson is 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, so if you think Allgeier was a good bruiser, you haven't seen anything yet. He has 17 rushing touchdowns across four NFL seasons, so as a short-yardage, back meant to fill the change-of-pace role in the offense, his pedigree is too qualified for the role he'll play.
The 2022 third-round pick surpassed 700 rushing yards in each of his first three NFL seasons, including nearly 800-yards as a rookie despite missing nearly half the season recovering from a gunshot wound suffered that offseason. And he logged a career-high eight rushing TDs in 2024.
The Alabama product was held to just 400 yards in 2025, but that's because he was playing behind Christian McCaffrey and did not make a single start after he was traded last offseason. Frankly, I still can't explain why the Commanders traded Robinson, but their RB room was much worse without him.
Even still, this is a fantastic signing by the Dirty Birds. The Falcons could have signed someone like Nick Chubb or an ailing Najee Harris to play the Allgeier role, but Stefanski instead signed arguably the best running back still available. And for $2.5 million, this is what we call taking advantage of a bad RB market.
The funniest part about this deal is that it's the all-B. Robinson backfield in Atlanta now, and I can't help but laugh when someone drafts Brian over Bijan in fantasy football this summer. And this probably wipes running back off the board as a need in the draft, which is probably the best part beyond keeping the backfield strategy intact, since Bijan is in for another massive season.
The offseason has been underwhelming thus far in Atlanta, but adding a physical runner like this is probably Stefanski and Ian Cunningham's best work to date.