If you heard the NBC broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night game against the Indianapolis Colts, you likely heard Cris Collinsworth talk about what head coach Mike Tomlin told him about undrafted free agent linebacker Adrian Robinson.
Collinsworth said that when he asked Tomlin about Robinson, who had solid first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers coach described the Temple product as a one-trick pony that gets up the field, can rush the passer, but doesn\’t play special teams and doesn\’t drop.
As you can imagine, those comments made their way back to Robinson quickly and Monday night the linebacker took to Twitter to post how he feels about and you can read that tweet below.
Robinson had another solid showing in the game against the Colts as he provided several pressures of the quarterback and even knocked down one pass. While he has looked raw, his ability to get after the quarterback certainly can\’t be ignored.
Tomlin certainly knows how to use the media to motivate players, but you have to agree with his assessment of Robinson thus far. That being said, he has potential and has flashed much more in the preseason than any other Steelers rookie linebacker has over the course of the last several seasons that I can remember.
It is not a secret that the Steelers depth at the outside linebacker spot is hurting right now with both James Harrison and Jason Worilds still on the PUP list. The depth at the position got even thinner this past weekend when it was announced that Stevenson Sylvester, who had been working both inside and outside, tore a medial collateral ligament in one of his knees before the team left Latrobe.
Both Harrison and Sylvester have undergone minor procedures over the course of the last week and their status for the opener in Denver is currently in question. Worilds is a mystery all to himself as he is still recovering from offseason wrist surgery.
Thanks to all of the injuries, the Steelers will most likely be forced to keep 9 linebackers, and possibly even 10 on the 53 man roster to start the season. Robinson is most likely battling Mortty Ivy and perhaps even veteran free agent Brandon Johnson for the extra spot or spots. Johnson does play special teams, as does Ivy, who blocked a punt Sunday night, and both still are getting reps before Robinson does. Another thing that is in their favor is that both can also play inside should the need arise.
There is still a lot of preseason football left to be played and Robinson still has a chance to make the 53 man roster as an undrafted free agent linebacker, a feat that I pointed out recently hasn\’t been accomplished since Donovan Woods did it back in 2008.
Robinson might very well be just a one-trick pony right now like Tomlin suggested to Collinsworth, but that trick certainly is exciting to watch and he appears to have the makings of a future show horse.
