Mack Brown returns to Redskins, joins practice squad as injury insurance

The Washington Redskins’ three-headed rushing attack of Alfred Morris, Matt Jones and Chris Thompson had been whittled down to just one by the end of the loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. Jones sat out the game with a sprained big toe, and Thompson bruised his lower back during the game.

To provide insurance, the Redskins signed undrafted free agent Mack Brown, who had been with the team in training camp, to the practice squad on Tuesday. It was especially hard to spot the newcomer in the locker room — and not because he doesn’t have an engraved nameplate on his stall just yet.

Rather than sitting quietly, Brown was instigating a debate about which players around him he could beat in a foot race.

“[Colin] Lockett, he can’t beat me in a race,” Brown said while looking at the wide receiver standing a few feet away.

“Put that in the article,” Lockett said, shaking his head incredulously.

Brown’s comfort stems from his familiarity with the team. He played in all four of the Redskins preseason games, amassing 81 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries before being cut as the roster was trimmed down to 53.

“I feel like I’m right back in it. Preseason helped me out a lot,” Brown said. “I learned from a lot of the other guys in the backfield.”

Still, six weeks have gone by since the Brown’s initial release, and the Florida product acknowledged that he still has a little bit of catching up to do.

“I know most of the plays, but you’ve got to just get it back in your mind again,” Brown said. “I’m not too far behind right now.”

Brown joins Trey Williams, also an undrafted free agent, as running backs on the Redskins’ practice squad. Though Williams wasn’t present as he spoke, Brown called him out in the foot race speculation anyways.

“Tell everybody that Trey Williams can’t beat me,” Brown said.

Williams described the 5-foot-11, 214-pound Brown as an explosive runner with good field vision capable of making strong cuts, but he dismissed Brown’s fleet-footed claims.

“Listen, don’t let Mack fool you with all of this. He really knows what’s up,” Williams said. “I’m faster than Mack. He knows that.”

The Redskins released inside linebacker Nico Johnson from the practice squad to make room for Brown, who felt “good to be back.” Brown wasn’t the only player happy about his return.

“We’re always joking around and stuff, just having a good time, enjoying life pretty much and just grinding hard,” Williams said. “It was kind of sad to see him go, but he’s here now, and we’re back at it.”