Coach Jay Gruden said Tuesday that Perine is approaching a return to practice, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Perine sprained his ankle in the Redskins' second preseason game last Thursday, with an expectation that he'd be sidelined at least one week. With another exhibition Friday, he likely has just one chance to make an impression on the training staff in order to play, but Derrius Guice's ACL tear has thrown such a wrench in the team's plans that Adrian Peterson was brought on board this week. As a result, Gruden may buck norms and trot out Perine (if healthy), Peterson and Rob Kelley in preseason Week 4 to figure out the lead runner.