Former Alabama RB Brian Robinson Jr. traded ahead of 2025-26 NFL season
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Former Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. is being traded to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the start of the 2025-26 NFL season.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Washington Commanders are dealing Robinson in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. A report from NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo states that the Commanders are paying part of Robinson’s $3.4 million salary for the season to facilitate the deal.
Robinson was a third-round pick by the Commanders in the 2022 NFL Draft. He had at least 733 rushing yards, at least 178 rushing attempts, and at least 12 appearances in each of his first 3 seasons with the organization.
But trade rumors were incessant this preseason. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week that Robinson’s style of play “doesn’t seem to fit into what they do.” Robinson sat out the Commanders’ preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday. According to ESPN, the franchise planned to release him if it could not find a trade partner.
Washington has a glut of capable running backs and seems to have just needed to clear out the rotation. But Robinson has been a serviceable runner to begin his NFL career, even after it was nearly derailed at the start.
The former Crimson Tide bruiser was shot on Aug. 28, 2022, in an attempted robbery in Washington, D.C. Despite knee surgery brought on by the shooting, he returned to play in 12 games as a rookie and rushed for 797 yards with 2 touchdowns.
Robinson has 2,329 yards and 15 touchdowns so far during his career. He’s coming off a career-best season where he ran for 799 yards and 8 scores on 4.3 yards per carry.
With the Niners, Robinson will have the opportunity to play. San Francisco has the talented-but-injury-prone Christian McCaffrey atop the depth chart. McCaffrey was limited to just 4 games last season.
Rookie fifth-round pick Jordan James has been unavailable for most of preseason camp. Fifth-year back Patrick Taylor Jr. was also just placed on injured reserve earlier this week after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Robinson should provide insurance behind McCaffrey as well as a powerful back for short-yardage situations.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
