The Pittsburgh Steelers made a lot of changes on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, and one room that was greatly impacted was the wide receivers. Diontae Johnson was traded to the Carolina Panthers, and Allen Robinson II was released just ahead of free agency. Robinson has since signed with the New York Giants and admitted in a recent interview that he didn’t see his release coming.
“I know for them, they were doing a lot of changes over there, schematic changes, and different things like that,” Robinson said via an interview posted on the Giants’ team website. “So, it was a little surprising. But at the end of the day, it’s a part of the business. I’ve been in this thing now going on 11 years.”
All players have an exit meeting after the season ends, so he must not have felt like his roster spot was in jeopardy coming out of the meeting. Robinson was not very productive relative to the two-year $15 million deal he signed with just 34 receptions for 280 yards and zero touchdowns in 17 games. He was in a crowded WR room with Johnson, George Pickens, and Calvin Austin III, and the Steelers offense struggled for most of the season to support good production for that many players.
What he did offer was veteran leadership in an offense that was sorely lacking it. Multiple players pointed to Robinson as a leader in the room. He also brought blocking skills that were useful for the run-first offense the Steelers had last season. It wasn’t enough to warrant keeping him around for the remaining $10 million of his contract, however.
“I knew right away I was playing again,” Robinson said. “I know for sure I’ve got a couple more years in me. Last year, kind of stepping into the season, I wasn’t quite 100 percent. I was coming off a foot injury. So, being able to have this offseason to really be healthy and train and do all those things, I knew for sure.”
He is now with his fifth NFL team as a member of the New York Giants. He will have a chance to help mentor one of the top WRs coming out of the draft, Malik Nabers, like he did for some of the Steelers’ WRs and he is reuniting with some familiar faces in Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski, both of whom were on the Steelers roster entering last season.
