Running back James Robinson’s time came and went like the wind with the New England Patriots. The former leading rusher went from being one of the team’s biggest acquisitions in free agency to being on the chopping block before training camp.
Why?
That’s the biggest question lingering following Robinson’s exit from his third NFL team in less than a year. Robinson is only 24 years old and three years removed from rushing for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted the structuring of the running back’s contract as a possible tipping of the cap that the team was concerned with his health issues. Perhaps those concerns manifested into reality when the players started undergoing physicals at mandatory minicamp.
RB James Robinson’s contract was structured in a way that led one to believe the Patriots had concerns from a health/injury standpoint.
It might be a coincidence, but Robinson’s release comes at a time when players are undergoing physicals at mandatory minicamp.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 12, 2023
Also, The Athletic’s Chad Graff deserves some credit for getting it right when it came to his roster projections. He noted the physical concerns the New York Jets had for Robinson as his reasoning for picking Ty Montgomery to win out as the No. 2 running back on the roster.
Graff wrote:
Leaving Robinson off is the first real surprise of this projection. It was only three years ago that he was a 1,000-yard rusher as a rookie with the Jaguars. But he struggled enough that Jacksonville waived him last season, then he never found a footing with the Jets, who had concerns about his speed. So I’m going with Montgomery to make the team after an injury wiped out his entire 2022 campaign.
Montgomery has looked strong during the spring practices, and second-year running backs Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr. have continued to show promise as depth options.
The writing was already on the wall for Robinson’s time in New England.
