After fighting through a turf toe injury toward the end of an exceptional rookie season, Washington Football Team running back Antonio Gibson feels like he's all the way back physically.
"I'm fine," Gibson told NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay. "I'm out there making cuts, running routes, blocking, so I'm fine."
Gibson ran for 795 yards as a rookie in 2020, scoring 11 touchdowns in 14 games for Washington as one of its most dependable offensive contributors. However, turf toe can be a nagging injury that needs a lot of time to fully recover. Then even when it does recover, the mental side can keep a player from performing at the highest level.
For Gibson, he said that kind of mental hurdle isn't a factor right now.
"When you're injured, it's a lot of mental aspects to it," Gibson said. "So even when you're not hurt, sometimes people tend to think about it, you limp or you're kind of compensating on the other side. So [you] try to get out of your head, play as fast as you can, worry about it after the game, make sure you treat it up well so you can be ready for the next day."
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Gibson's toe will be a consistent storyline all season long for Washington. J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber each had their moments in the backfield last season, but if this offense is going to reach its potential, they'll need Gibson on the field.
There's only one week to go before Washington's first preseason game, where fans will likely get a decent look at their franchise running back in Year 2.