The Facts: The Commanders "hoped to involve Gibson more in the passing game next season" even before letting J.D. McKissic walk in free agency, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic.

Diehards Line: Standig adds that the Commanders hope to add a back "capable of handling early-down duties with Gibson." As the Redzone.org suggests, this actually checks out on both fronts, as Gibson is a natural pass catcher who probably handled too many between-the-tackles touches in 2021, limiting his explosiveness and wearing him down with injury issues. Gibson should be catching more passes and getting more breathers on first and second down. Even though he dealt with injury issues all season and was frequently spelled by both McKissic and undrafted rookie Jaret Patterson, Gibson's sophomore season was far from a disaster as he missed only one game and ran for over 1,000 yards, caught 42 passes, and scored 10 touchdowns. Expecting another solid season seems reasonable.