Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season is over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we turn our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: ILB Mark Robinson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: In spite of the anticipatory speculation fueled by the media about how the Steelers feel about second-year inside linebacker Mark Robinson, the fact remains that his defensive coordinator basically said he’s not going to be in the running for a starting job this year—but maybe next year.
Mark Robinson is the only linebacker on the roster who was even here last year, which is pretty significant even without considering the fact that he is just a second-year former seventh-round draft pick.
Gone are Devin Bush, Myles Jack, Robert Spillane, and Marcus Allen, even Tae Crowder. The Steelers have replaced them with Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Tanner Muse, and Nick Kwiatkoski. Holcomb and Roberts were brought in early on to take over the starting positions.
For months, though, we were fed snippets from beat writers talking about how eager the coaches are to see what Robinson can show them this year, with the strong implication that he would be in the mix for a starting job.
Well, that’s evidently not what defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was thinking. He told reporters a few weeks back that Robinson was still “a work in progress” and “probably not quite ready”, offering that if he continues to improve he might be “ready to really compete for that starting job” in 2024.
Granted, what a defensive coordinator says during OTAs and minicamp isn’t gospel. If he has a great training camp, would the Steelers really not put him on the field because of how deeply they believe in Roberts, who is only a step or two above a journeyman?
Regardless of what might actually happen down the line, however, we still have to acknowledge what the coaching staff is actually saying, because they reflect, at least so far as we can determine their sincerity, how they currently view the situation.
It was never going to be the case that the Steelers would bank on Robinson being a big contributor, either this year or ever, frankly. But you very rarely ever hear a coach say of a young player who isn’t a rookie, maybe next year. So that’s why, stock down. But the good news, the story can always be rewritten with your work on the field.
