When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for WR Allen Robinson II this spring, the one question on everyone’s mind was how far along Robinson was in his recovery process. Robinson underwent season-ending foot surgery back in late November of 2022, putting his return date in 2023 up in the air.
While HC Mike Tomlin mentioned that they were going to be conservative with Robinson during spring practices to focus on rehab and allow that foot to completely heal, it appears as if Robinson is primed for full participation when training camp starts up in late July.
Speaking with Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Robinson said he logged full participation in 11-on-11 sessions last week during OTAs, a step up from his limited participation in individual drills to start OTAs.
“It’s the first time I’ve gone up against somebody in six months,” Robinson said, according to Adamski. “Being able to get back to have that and lay that foundation for myself going into a phase before training camp where I get six and a half weeks to work on things before training camp. I’m glad I’m able to get that out now.”
When healthy, Robinson has shown that he can still be a productive WR in the league. He has missed 12 games in the last two seasons with various injuries, limiting him to 38 receptions for 410 yards and one TD in 2021 and 33 receptions for 339 yards and three TDs in 2022. Still, Robinson has shown that he can still operate well as a possession receiver in all quadrants of the field, working down the sideline and making contested catches in the red zone while also separating from defensive backs over the middle to move the chains for the passing game.
In 2020, Robinson had 1,250 yards and six TDs on 102 receptions, suggesting that some of that production and playmaking ability is still able to be had if he can stay on the field. He shouldn’t come close to those numbers this season as Pittsburgh’s WR3 when also factoring in Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin III, and Najee Harris into the passing game. However, Robinson should easily surpass the production the Steelers got out of Steven Sims as their de-facto WR3 after Chase Claypool got traded, and very well could round out a WR corps that is better overall than Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and JuJu Smith-Schuster were in 2020-2021.
The acquisition of Robinson from the Rams was a low risk/high reward move this offseason, costing Pittsburgh virtually nothing in exchange for a potential lottery ticket in a proven, reliable veteran receiver. Seeing as Robinson is already logging full participation in practice, things are trending in the right way for Robinson to make a notable impact in Pittsburgh in 2023.
