Through two-plus NFL seasons in Jacksonville, running back James Robinson appeared in 35 games. His Jaguars won four.
A startling new reality of the 2022 Jets is players are being added, not subtracted. Acquired pieces are joining the ship and fleeing the one they left sinking.
“Feels pretty good, I’ll say that — 5-2 [record] from 2-5,” Robinson said after practice Wednesday, his first with his new team after the Jets traded for their Breece Hall replacement this week. “[Winning] makes it very exciting actually.”
The question is: When will he be a part of that winning? Robinson said the team is keeping the playbook simple, which at least opens the door for a debut Sunday against the Patriots. But the Jets, who also promoted running back Zonovan Knight to the active roster, said they’ll “take it slow” with Robinson and want to see how he looks.
The 24-year-old tore his Achilles last December in a game against the Jets. He returned nine months later, able to open the season as the Jaguars’ starting running back.
But his usage declined as the weeks passed. During the loss Sunday to the Giants, Robinson had no carries as Travis Etienne, their 2021 first-round pick, became the Jaguars’ workhorse. After the game, Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson told reporters Robinson was “dealing with some lower-body issues.” A day later, he was sent to the Jets for a conditional pick.
“The communication was really not there. Last Sunday I felt like I should have played but obviously [I didn’t],” said Robinson, who added he is healthy. “I thought it was going to be like a one-two punch, that kind of thing. I feel like they probably kind of fell out of that a little bit. I think they were using my ‘not being healthy’ as an excuse, I guess.”
Robinson passed his Jets physical. He practiced Wednesday and was not listed on the injury report. He acknowledged “there’s going to be soreness” in his knee, but nothing abnormal.
Robinson went undrafted out of Illinois State in 2020. He stuck with the Jaguars and became a remarkable story, rushing for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie campaign. He was averaging 4.7 yards per carry in 14 games before the injury cost him the end of last season.
This season, he had for 340 yards on 81 carries (4.2 per) before the trade.
“I’m a hard runner. I try not to get too cute with a lot of things,” said Robinson, who is listed at 5-feet-9 and 219 pounds — a slightly stockier version of Michael Carter, who figures to form a complement with Robinson after Hall, the star rookie, tore his ACL on Sunday.
“[Robinson] looks like Michael in stature, but he’s a one-cut runner, he gets downhill in a hurry,” head coach Robert Saleh said Wednesday. “Really, really good complement to what Ty Johnson and Michael bring to the table, so just keep trying to keep that versatility in our room.
“Obviously losing Breece is a big blow, but James Robinson is a pretty good football player, too.”
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