To make an NFL roster as a fringe piece, the more you can bring to the table, the better.
Fourth-year inside linebacker Mark Robinson is taking that to heart. He’s even trying a new position this summer in Latrobe — sort of.
Robinson started as a college running back at Ole Miss, then switched to linebacker for his final year before being selected in the seventh round by the Steelers in the 2022 NFL Draft. On Sunday, Robinson saw some goal line reps as a fullback at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
According to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, Robinson sported a white No. 93 jersey in the final session of practice, and saw three snaps at the position, giving the Steelers another look offensively in goal line drills.
The Steelers previously experimented with the fullback position in training camp back in 2023, giving former center Kendrick Green some reps at fullback. They even threw a pass to him during the Friday Night Lights practice that year in Latrobe.
The work at fullback was designed to give Green more position flexibility, giving him a better chance of sticking on the roster as a backup and special teamer. However, the Steelers ultimately traded Green to the Houston Texans ahead of final roster cuts, moving on from him before the fullback experiment could get some run in the regular season.
With Robinson, he finds himself battling for a roster spot in a deep, talented linebacker room with the likes of Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison and rookie Carson Bruener. Though Robinson has special teams abilities and is a valuable piece there for coordinator Danny Smith, the more you can do, the better.
Versatility is the name of the game, after all.
Here’s a look at Robinson in the fullback position, according to a tweet on X from the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski.
After practice, head coach Mike Tomlin downplayed the snaps at fullback for Robinson, citing the usage of Green during training camp practices at the position a few years ago, according to a tweet from the Tribune-Review’s Joe Rutter on X.
“He played running back in college, those of you that are familiar with his resume, and so it’s not a completely foreign act,” Tomlin said of Robinson seeing FB reps, according to video via Steelers.com. “We just wanna give him a look at it and see what it looked like. Maybe we’ll do some more in the future with him. Maybe we’ll do some more with some others.
“The more versatile you are, it adds to your calls and it adds to ours.”
It could all very well wind up being nothing in the end, but with Robinson in a roster spot battle, and the Steelers not having a true fullback on the roster, it’s something to monitor moving forward. Maybe they even break it out during the preseason opener on the road Aug. 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With Robinson’s past experience in the backfield, it’s at least feasible that they give it a shot in a game.
