Samaje Perine Ruled Out vs. Giants with Ankle Injury

Washington running back Samaje Perine suffered an ankle injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the team's contest against the New York Giants, according to the team.

Perine, 22, was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft by Washington. The rookie was expected to share carries with Robert Kelley, while Chris Thompson resumed his third-down and scatback role; though Perine eventually emerged as the starter after both Thompson and Kelley were lost for the season.

Coming into Sunday, Perine rushed for 600 yards and a touchdown.

The rookie was drafted to help improve a rushing attack that limped down the stretch in 2016. In the team's final two home games, for instance, Washington rushed for a total of 67 yards on 28 carries, while Kelley averaged just 3.23 yards per carry in the final six contests, per John Keim of ESPN.com.

With Matt Jones struggling with consistency and fumbling issues, it was clear the team needed another quality back to pair with Kelley. 

And head coach Jay Gruden was certainly impressed with Perine in July, as he told Alyssa Haduck of the team's website:

"I like guys who come in here and love football and he does. He’s a very smart guy. You can tell that he’s going to be a very hard worker, and he runs hard. You could see that his pad level is always down, he’s got good vision, he’s got good feet in the hole and he caught the ball well.

"Not to mention, the character on this kid is A-plus. We know we’re going to get the most out of him. He benched 30 times on 225 [pounds], so we know how strong he is. Just a total package is really what we liked."

That made it unsurprising when Perine began seeing more work and took over the role when Kelley was lost for the season. With Perine done for the year, Kapri Bibbs will take over as the team's feature back for the remainder of Sunday's game.