ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice suffered a sprained left MCL in Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, according to multiple sources. Guice, who called the hit on his left knee a cheap shot, already has been ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia and might not play again this season.
He underwent an MRI on Monday, which revealed no damage to the other ligaments. Guice missed eight games earlier this season with a torn right meniscus that required surgery. He tore his left ACL in the 2018 preseason.
Redskins interim coach Bill Callahan said Guice would not play vs. the Eagles and, with only two other games remaining, it’s likely that the second-year back won’t return until 2020.
In five games this season, Guice carried 42 times for 245 yards and two touchdowns, providing hope for the Redskins’ future at the position. He had three runs of 20 or more yards plus a 45-yard touchdown off a screen pass. Sunday, he was hurt at the end of a 23-yard run when safety Darnell Savage, coming from the side, hit him in the left knee with his helmet. Guice later tweeted that it was a cheap shot, saying that Savage, knowing his history of knee issues, went “straight at them.”
In a since-deleted tweet, Guice said he thought “it was a cheap shot!! He knows the history of my knee injuries and went straight at them…”
But Guice also tweeted that he was thankful the results weren’t worse. It’s been a tough road for the 2018 second-round pick out of LSU, having been hurt at the end of a long run in his first preseason game. Then he was hurt in the season opener at Philadelphia, causing him to land on injured reserve and miss eight games. He had split time with Adrian Peterson since his return. Peterson had continued as the main back and leads Washington with 720 yards rushing. Peterson receives a $500,000 bonus if he reaches 1,000 yards this season.
Callahan said Monday that he spoke with Guice for a while. Guice called last season the hardest of his life because football was taken away from him for the first time.
“This guy’s upbeat, he’s positive, he’s got more energy than the entire building, so it ain’t going to hamper him or stifle him or hold him back by any means,” Callahan said. “I love the guy, I love his energy and what he brings to the table every day, how he comes into the meeting room, how he goes to the practice field. He’s just a bundle of energy and he gives us a catalyst that most teams don’t have. He’s a lot of fun to coach. He’s insightful, he’s smart, he’s intuitive — I like all of those qualities and traits about him. And you know what? If the rehab is lengthy, it’s lengthy. If it’s short, it’s short. But I know this, he’ll put everything into the rehabilitation that he needs to if not more.”