The Jacksonville Jaguars ended the 2021 season without their top offensive weapon in James Robinson as the second-year player tore his Achilles in December in their game against the New York Jets. However, fans got to witness a glimpse of his progress in organized team activities as he started the process of jogging about a month ago.
After OTAs this week, the media got a chance to catch up with the third-year rusher, who said he feels pretty good but isn’t going to rush the rehab process.
“I’m just letting my body recover,” Robinson said, according to Jaguars.com. “I’m not trying to rush anything. My body is recovering, and I’m just trying to get stronger. I’m out here running, and it feels pretty good to be back running.”
With Robinson being the Jags’ top offensive threat and a player who has accumulated 1,837 rushing yards, in addition to 15 touchdowns, a slow and steady approach is absolutely the right one. Even at that pace, coach Doug Pederson has said that Robinson is expected to return at some point during training camp, which is a positive sign for the Jags’ offense.
However, Robinson himself wouldn’t give the media a specific date when asked but did say his return won’t be much of a secret when the time is right.
“When I’m ready, I’ll be ready. You guys know,” he said Wednesday.
When Robinson returns, he’ll be teaming up with a first-round selection from last year in Travis Etienne in the backfield. As a result, fans have been eager to see Robinson back on the field, as the Jags could end up with one of the best one-two punches at the running back position.
And while Robinson isn’t rushing to get back, he shares the same excitement as the fans when it comes to teaming with Etienne.
“I’m very excited,” Robinson said. “Last year was just a bummer. You couldn’t see him do what he does. This year, just watching him practice and everything, I think he’ll be great.”
Etienne, who also had a season-ending injury (Lisfranc), was able to participate in OTAs and impressed with his speed. Hopefully, it won’t be long before he’s impressing alongside Robinson as the Jags offense is going to need both to take a leap in 2022.
