When the Pittsburgh Steelers lost linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander for the season, it was expected that 2022 seventh-round pick Mark Robinson would be a player who stepped up at the position. In the week leading up to the team’s Week 11 matchup with the Cleveland Browns, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the Steelers would use a three-man rotation of Elandon Roberts, Robinson and Mykal Walker. Well, that trio became a duo. Robinson saw zero snaps on defense against Cleveland, while Roberts and Walker handled inside linebacker duties.
Roberts played every single defensive snap, logging 75 in total. Walker played 63 snaps, while Robinson and practice squad elevation Tariq Carpenter didn’t earn a single defensive rep. It’s clear that Pittsburgh doesn’t trust Robinson to be an impact player at this point, and it makes its future at the position something to monitor.
Robinson was a converted running back who first transitioned to linebacker as a senior at Ole Miss in 2021, and he flashed enough for Pittsburgh to take him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. But he didn’t see the field much as a rookie, and he’s only played 45 defensive snaps this year. Forty-one of those came against the Green Bay Packers after Alexander went down and before Walker was signed off the practice squad, so it was more out of necessity than because Pittsburgh trusted Robinson.
It says a lot about what the team thinks of Robinson that Walker, who signed to the practice squad on Oct. 30, is seeing significantly more reps in his first game with the team. Robinson’s future with the team looks to be on special teams, as the fact he couldn’t rotate in for even one defensive snap shows that the team just doesn’t trust him.
While Holcomb is still under contract for next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Pittsburgh turned to the draft now for depth at the position behind him and Roberts. If Robinson isn’t viable to play a season-and-a-half into his NFL career, it’s doubtful that he’ll be a better solution than someone Pittsburgh can find earlier in the draft or through free agency.
For the rest of the season, it looks as if it will be Walker and Roberts that Pittsburgh leans on. Roberts had a solid game against Cleveland, and he’s been a reliable player this season. Walker logged two tackles and his experience with the Atlanta Falcons is something that Pittsburgh clearly values and thinks will make him a better contributor than Robinson. With the Cincinnati Bengals coming up in Week 12, I wouldn’t expect to see Robinson a part of Pittsburgh’s game plan.
