For many years Antonio Gibson was a wide receiver before he was retrained as a running back in the NFL. If the 25-year-old has his way, he will return to his roots in the future.

Running back Antonio Gibson wants to be used more often as a wide receiver with the Washington Commanders in the future.

“I haven’t shown my position yet. Every year we talk about it, but it’s not happening,” the 25-year-old said in an interview on the franchise’s website.

Gibson had started his career in college as a wide receiver but was increasingly used as a returner, gradually converting to running back. In 2019, he was named to the AAC’s Team of the Year as both a returner and wide receiver.

He was also used at both positions in the NFL after being drafted in 2020, but in the clear majority of snaps he operated in the run game. In his three years in the league so far, he has 577 run attempts but only 124 balls caught.

New chance for Gibson under Eric Bienemy?

Now he hopes to get another chance as a receiver under new offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy. “Hopefully I can show what I can do out there in multiple opportunities this year,” Gibson said.

He is “really the guy for it” catching the ball and attacking open space, he said. “I don’t want to say it can’t be done as a running back because I’ve seen a lot of guys do it. But those opportunities aren’t there. When you catch the ball in the open field, you have so much more space,” he says.

However, the competition at the wide receiver position is enormous for the Commanders. The team from the US capital currently has Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel under contract. As a running back, he will probably duel with Brian Robinson in particular.