Allen Robinson II was supposed to be a Los Angeles Ram this season, but on April 18 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Today Robinson sat down with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com for an exclusive interview and detailed his reaction to finding out about being traded across the country.
“I was excited,” Robinson said in the video posted to Steelers.com. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about the Steelers organization and coach [Mike] Tomlin, so I’m definitely excited.”
Robinson said he had the chance to sign with the Steelers last offseason but opted to move from Chicago to sunny Los Angeles instead, joining a Rams team coming off a Super Bowl win. However, life in L.A. wasn’t great for Robinson. Quarterback issues plagued the Rams in 2022 and Robinson dealt with a foot injury that ended up with him being placed on injured reserve.
After a poor season due to unfortunate factors which saw Robinson catch only 33 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns he will look to rebound with the Steelers and quarterback Kenny Pickett. Robinson had a really good year in 2020, when he last played a full season, posting a stat line of 102 receptions, for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns.
Robinson will hope that a healthy season plus consistent quarterback play helps him regain his form. In addition, he will hope being back in Pennsylvania will help as well. Robinson played his college ball in Happy Valley for Penn State, so coming to Pittsburgh will bring some familiarity even if Penn State and Pittsburgh aren’t necessarily super close.
The addition of Robinson should be a huge help for the Steelers. He can play either in the slot or outside, so he will be providing much-needed wide receiver depth and give Pickett a quality slot target. While some expect Calvin Austin III to be the answer at slot, as of now we have no NFL tape on him to determine if that will be the case. A healthy Robinson has shown he can be very effective in the slot so Pickett knows he has a true NFL-caliber receiver in the slot this season.
Pittsburgh’s offense must improve this year and the team acquiring Robinson could be huge. Moving across the country certainly must have been difficult for Robinson, but as of now he seems to be enjoying his time as a Steeler. Hopefully he can stay healthy and return to his strong form he showed on the Bears in 2020.
