It's been a long road for Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice, who received his first preseason playing time since suffering a torn ACL last preseason.
The 22-year-old running back looked as advertised, taking the Redskins' first six carries of Thursday's preseason tilt versus the Atlanta Falcons. Guice finished with 11 carries for 44 yards. He also had a plowing touchdown nullified by a holding penalty.
Despite missing all the 2018 campaign, Guice didn't look rusty in the least.
"It's been a long time, bro," Guice said after the tilt, via Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post. "I knew it was something I needed. I needed to get out there, get my feet under me, get some contact to really see where I'm at."
Guice showed good vision, one-cut ability to hit the hole, a nasty stiff-arm, and the ability to fall forward when his blockers didn't give him much.
The LSU product picked up where he left off last preseason, generating yards behind an O-line that didn't exactly blast holes open.
Guice tore the ACL after just six carries in one preseason game in early August last year. After suffering several setbacks that necessitated additional procedures, his return is a boon for a Washington offense that should rely heavily on the run game.
"It was important to get him the ball," coach Jay Gruden said. "Wanted to give him quite a few touches. Get him some rhythm, a sweat. Get used to hitting the ground, getting hit, tackled, protecting the football...I think it was a productive night for him. Looked like he was decisive with his cuts for the most part, ran with some power at times, moved the pile when there wasn't anything there. I was impressed."
Guice projects to share snaps with veteran Adrian Peterson and pass-catching back Chris Thompson this season. If he continues to impress, Guice could slice off a bigger portion of the totes from All Day as the season progresses.
