Player: ILB Mark Robinson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Mark Robinson’s prospects of retaining his roster spot took a sizeable hit, the result of a Steelers reunion. Pittsburgh signed ILB Tyler Matakevich to a one-year contract, a move that potentially makes him obsolete. He will have to work that much harder in training camp to prove that he is anything but.
I recently saw a professional local beat writer describe third-year Steelers ILB Mark Robinson as a massive disappointment.
I would like to remind readers at this stage that Mark Robinson is a former seventh-round draft pick. He is a former running back still digesting the linebacker position, and yet he has already played for two years. The term “disappointment” does not apply to him—he has already exceeded expectations.
At least, he has exceeded the expectations for a typical seventh-round draft pick. I’m sure Robinson has much higher expectations for himself, but he has not realized them all yet. And the Steelers’ signing of Tyler Matakevich will make that more difficult.
Matakevich is, after all, Mark Robinson before Mark Robinson: a special-teams specialist linebacker. Robinson is a better athlete but a worse football player. Matakevich has already carved out an eight-year career for himself in this niche, while Robinson is still learning it.
The Steelers already have Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, and Payton Wilson as roster locks at inside linebacker. There is a chance that they have Cole Holcomb at the start of the season as well, though the Matakevich signing could be a bad sign in that regard. Either way, Robinson could be battling Matakevich for the last spot on the roster.
One factor here is that the Steelers already know what Mark Robinson can do in a practice setting. They know he can bash people around, but what they haven’t seen is his football intelligence. He is still developing the instincts needed to excel as an inside linebacker in the NFL. He has everything else he needs but that—and that is Matakevich’s best attribute, even if he lacks the same finesse.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
