Player: ILB Mark Robinson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Heading into his fourth season, Mark Robinson will have another challenge maintaining his roster spot. With the signing of Malik Harrison and the retention of Cole Holcomb, he will have an uphill battle. The battle is winnable, but he is competing at both inside linebacker and special teams. And his advantage in the latter department continues to shrink.
When it comes to gauging Mark Robinson’s roster viability for the Steelers in 2025, one has to consider multiple factors. To begin with, it’s a numbers game not just at inside linebacker or linebacker generally, but also on special teams. Rarely do the Steelers keep more than nine linebackers total, and he would be the ninth, at best.
Now, Robinson is used to being the ninth, but this year, he has to compete even for that. And his direct competition is a winnable one, admittedly, right now. He could be competing with outside linebackers Julius Welschof and Eku Leota, plus Thomas Rush, unless they add another linebacker.
At outside linebacker, the Steelers have T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Jeremiah Moon as a special-teams standout. Moon is almost exclusively a special-teams player, so that is one factor to consider. At inside linebacker, Mark Robinson is behind Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, and Malik Harrison. The Steelers signed Harrison to a two-year, $10 million deal, and he is a special-teams ace.
With Moon and Harrison already special-teams stalwarts at linebacker, Robinson may face the risk of being squeezed out should the Steelers have a numbers demand at another position. It’s more likely that they keep nine linebackers, as they typically do. But there is also the possibility that they add another linebacker along the way.
Now, Robinson has developed into a good special-teams player, and the Steelers rarely cut them prematurely. He forced two fumbles on special teams last year, and you know Danny Smith wants to keep him. But the numbers game isn’t something you can ignore. Facing the end of his rookie contract, the Steelers may want to prepare for the future. And with it appearing increasingly obvious that they no longer see a defensive upside in him, his value is limited. It’s not all about his special-teams value, as much as that is, and virtually nothing else.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. Once the dust settles on free agency, we turn our attention to the draft, and so on. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
