Badger Football: Ogunbowale on Washington’s Active Roster
Former Wisconsin Badger football running back Dare Ogunbowale get moved onto the Washington professional football team’s active roster
As we approach the final two weeks of the NFL regular season, a whole lot of teams are playing for 2018 and beyond. Thus, ex-Badger football RB Dare Ogunbowale will get an audition in Washington.
Hopefully he can show the Washington personnel managers enough variety and ability to justify keeping him around for next season.
Washington is just 6-8 this season and already eliminated from the playoffs. So they might as well get a head start on preparing for next season.
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Pro Football Talk reported on Friday that Washington put LT Trent Williams on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they moved former Badger football RB Dare Ogunbowale from its practice squad to its active roster.
As PFT notes, Washington is already down at least two running backs for this week. The team already has four running backs on injured reserve.
So that means come Sunday, Washington will have just two running backs on its active roster unless they make another move in the next two days. The duo will be Ogunbowale and third-year pro Kapri Bibbs who has two carries for six yards this season.
You can’t cheer other’s injuries, but this is a good situation for Ogunbowale. A team with nothing to play for in 2017 can give him a long look to see if he fits for future plans.
In addition, it’s not like Washington is content with its backfield. For the season, Washington is 26th in rushing and 28th in yards per attempt. It’s eight rushing fumbles it tied for fourth highest in the NFL.
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Ogunbowale’s contract expires at the end of the season. So hopefully he can show off the same broad skill set he had at Wisconsin. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry rushing 319 times for 1,518 yards. He also added 60 receptions for 507 yards.
This year, Washington running backs have caught 72 of the team’s 308 pass completions with a high of 39 from Chris Thompson. By way of comparison, ex-Badger James White has caught 56 passes for New England this season. Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis combined for 51 catches.
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So Washington could throw to running backs more. But it could be both scheme and talent that limits those passing plays. Regardless, this is a big opportunity for Ogunbowale to show off the full arsenal in the hopes of finding more job security in 2018.