Washington's latest addition at running back made the most of his opportunities in Sunday's game against the Cardinals, highlighted by a 36-yard touchdown on the Redskins' best offensive play of the day.
A flight from Orlando to Washington D.C., takes a little more than two hours. For Washington Redskins running back Kapri Bibbs, those two hours could not come quickly enough.
Bibbs signed with the Redskins active roster after the team lost yet another tailback to injury, this time backup Byron Marshall, who came to Washington from Philadelphia earlier this season. Fresh off a season of training in Orlando and a month on the Redskins' practice squad, Bibbs made an immediate impact during Washington's 20-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
"I'm just happy to be here and be a part of the organization," Bibbs said. "An organization like this where I've got coaches that believe in me, I've got great teammates and everything, it made it a lot easier for me. So, I'm just blessed right now."
While running back Samaje Perine took most of the handoffs Sunday afternoon, Bibbs made his presence felt in the passing game. Ever since running back Chris Thompson's season ended in injury last month, the Redskins were without a pass-catching threat in the backfield. Bibbs filled that role quickly, recording 47 yards on four receptions and one touchdown, finishing as the team's second leading receiver.
Bibbs' touchdown, Washington's second of the day, came on a screen pass that turned into a 36-yard sprint to the end zone. Quarterback Kirk Cousins set up the play by faking handoffs to Bibbs and receiver Ryan Grant. Bibbs then slipped past the defensive line, becoming wide open with a host of blockers down field. Arizona linebacker Deone Bucannon stretched out to drag Bibbs down feet from the goal line, but failed to slow down the young running back.
"That's my job, I've got to make people miss, and I was able to do that with my teammates," Bibbs said. "They did their job and I was able to do mine, so I was able to get in the end zone."
After the game, Bibbs recounted his long journey to the Redskins, from earning a large role in Denver's offense last year to spending 10 weeks without a team, living in an Orlando timeshare and training at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. Bibbs said his signing with the Redskins came after he had a dream that he would soon don the iconic burgundy and gold.
"I'm trying to stop smiling, but at the same time, I've been through a lot and this is just a blessing and I know God made everything happen for a reason, and before I signed with the Redskins, I had a dream about it like three weeks before they came and worked me out," he said. And I'm not just saying that, I really did."
"I think of Bibbs today, he's been a joy to work with the last couple of weeks and he's shown some burst and some ability and it was fun to give him a couple of opportunities today," Cousins said.
