Yardbarker

Sam Robinson

Writer

Sam Robinson is a sportswriter from Kansas City, Missouri. He primarily covers the NFL for Yardbarker. Moving from wildly injury-prone sprinter in the aughts to reporter in the 2010s, Sam set up camp in three time zones covering everything from high school water polo to Division II national championship games. He has since settled in as the husband of a track and field coach, concentrating on the NFL. Boasting an unhealthy interest in the league’s history and fashion trends, Sam is the lead writer for Pro Football Rumors and has written about the sport for Yardbarker since 2018. In addition to working as a writer/editor for a few newspapers – the Cleveland Plain Dealer and St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, to name two – in a former life that included some awkward awards-show hosting gigs thankfully inaccessible online, Sam has written about the Olympics for The Athletic.

EXPERTISE:

NFL, track and field, boxing

For cost-conscious shoppers, these free-agent RBs could be bargains

Kenyan Drake, Melvin Gordon and Lamar Miller are good options for running back-needy teams. Yardbarker's Chris Mueller, Sam Robinson and Michael Nania weigh in.

Realistic free-agent targets for all NFL teams

The beginning of the NFL’s legal tampering period looms Monday, and most of the 32 teams will have key free-agency blueprints equipped with need hierarchies and contingency plans. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson pinpoints potential pickups for all teams.

Three free agents who could turbocharge defenses

Defensive standouts Jadeveon Clowney, Byron Jones and Chris Harris could be on the move in free agency. Yardbarker projects potential landing spots.

Redskins, Lions, Giants could reap riches in draft from QB-needy teams

After the free-agency and trade dominoes fall, some teams will have seminal decisions to make near the top of the Draft, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

Vick to Johnny U: Best free-agent QB signings in NFL history

On the cusp of NFL free agency, QB Tom Brady -- you may have heard of him -- is in the news. But he isn't the first big-name QB to reach free agency. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson spotlights the 25 best free-agent signal-caller signings.

Staying power: Longest tenures with one team in NFL history

A host of future Hall of Famers have either played their last down for their original team or are considering an offseason departure. With that in mind, let's look at where their respective tenures rank all time.

Don't bet against Patriots if Tom Brady departs

Of all the stopgap-type solutions, Cincinnati's Andy Dalton may be the least flashy name as a replacement for Tom Brady in New England, writes Yardbarker's Sam Robinson. But he may be the best option. 

The best rematches in heavyweight history

With Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury II doubling as perhaps the most anticipated heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson 18 years ago, this is a good time to look at some of the great rematches in boxing's highest-profile division.

Free-agent pool overflows with edge-rushers. Here's where best could land.

Jadeveon Clowney, Arik Armstead, Shaq Barrett, Bud Dupree, Dante Fowler, Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue are among the available edge rushers in free agency. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson projects where they could land.

Projecting NFL in 2025, from No. 1 Chiefs to No. 32 Bucs

Which franchises will be best positioned to compete for championships in five years? And which teams face bleak futures? Yardbarker's Sam Robinson places NFL teams in five tiers for 2025.

Ideal landing spots for QBs other than Tom Brady

Tom Brady's status will overshadow the rest of the marketplace, but several other quality QBs could join new teams. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson surveys the landscape.

XFL 2.0: Rebooted league set to debut, but will it last?

The once-mocked operation is back, and while it is still going by “XFL,” the re-spawning league has ditched the extreme components that were the 2001 edition’s top drawing card. Yardbarker's Sam Robinson examines the XFL, which debuts Saturday.

The 25 best plays in Super Bowl history

We now have five and a half decades' worth of Super Bowl plays to enjoy and judge. Here are the top 25 from the NFL's ultimate game.

Route 49: How Jimmy G-fueled 49ers took unusual road to Super Bowl

Because of its acquisition of Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots, San Francisco could remain a powerhouse for years, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes. 

Every uniform matchup in Super Bowl history, ranked

Here is an entirely accurate, and in no way subjective, ranking of every Super Bowl uniform matchup.

Super Bowl LIV X-factors

Some injured Chiefs and 49ers starters and non-mainstream talents will help determine the NFL's 100th champion. Here are the top X-factors who could swing Super Bowl LIV.

The names to know for Super Bowl LIV

The quarterbacks and coaches will receive plenty of attention in Miami, but several players did the most to help the Chiefs and 49ers get to this stage.

Vastly underpaid, tight ends Kittle, Kelce should cash in after Super Bowl

Despite presenting some of the NFL’s most difficult coverage assignments, tight ends are second-class citizens, value-wise. Superstars Travis Kelce and George Kittle merit more money, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

10 bold moves that put 49ers, Chiefs on road to Super Bowl

The Chiefs-49ers matchup came to be because of several seminal decisions by each conference champion, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

Why re-signing Derrick Henry makes sense for Titans

The impending free agent's track record points to him sustaining value into his late 20s, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

The most unlikely teams to appear in an NFL conference championship game

This year, the Titans became one of the more unlikely teams to venture to a conference championship game. But they have some notable company. Here are the teams that surprised the football world most in reaching the postseason's penultimate round.

AFC, NFC title game intriguing matchups, QB intel reports, winners

Tennessee's Derrick Henry is on an epic run, but Patrick Mahomes gives Kansas City the edge in the AFC title game. In the NFC Championship Game, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers faces an uphill battle against the 49ers.

XFL rules innovations, common-sense replay system worth a look by NFL

The NFL will probably never adopt the XFL's shootout-style overtime, but the rebooted league's rulebook includes innovations worth considering, Yardbarker's Sam Robinson writes.

NFL divisional-round intriguing matchups, QB intel reports

Will the Vikings' revamped O-line hold off the 49ers' vaunted rush? Yardbarker's Sam Robinson examines key matchups and more in playoff games Saturday and Sunday.

30 best NFL playoff games of all time

Eight-plus decades of NFL postseason action has produced numerous classics, giving this latest playoff field a high bar. Here are the greatest games in the history of the NFL playoffs.