When James Robinson entered the NFL out of Illinois State, there weren't many, if any, expectations for him when he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, that didn't stop him from having a breakout campaign as a rookie, rushing for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns on 240 carries.
He is in a similar situation after signing a two-year contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. But what changed? A torn achilles 14 games into the 2021 season and the Jaguars ultimately opting to roll with Travis Etienne as their lead back led to them trading Robinson last season.
Robinson garnered 340 yards on 81 carries for the Jaguars before being traded to the New York Jets. Where even then, he proved to be more of an afterthought playing in just four games.
“I would say not ideal. I don’t really like moving around like that,” Robinson said about being traded last season. “It was kind of hard to find my role, really, and do what I can for the team that I was on.”
Reflecting on the last two seasons, Robinson explained that he felt he was proving doubters wrong to start the 2022 season following his achilies injury.
“Really looking forward to it. I mean, coming off the Achilles was a lot of talk of ‘he’s not going to be this. He’s not going to be that,’” Robinson said. “But, I felt like the start of that year, when I came back, I was doing pretty fine. I haven’t had a problem with it since.”
Judging by his game log, it is hard to ignore that he ran for over 100 yards in the Jaguars' Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. But the statistics also reveal a struggle for consistency. After averaging six yards per carry in Week 1, he averaged just 2.9 yards the next week.
Robinson hasn't moved to Foxboro with the expectation that he must return to being the No. 1 guy. Instead, he joins the Patriots as a hopeful replacement for Damien Harris, who signed with the Buffalo Bills. Rhamondre Stevenson is the top back for the Patriots, and Robinson likely realizes that. But that won't stop him from wanting to find his rookie season success again.
“Just doing what I can to help this team win,” Robinson said. “They need to see me play, and you guys need to see me play. Just trying to bring what I did in my rookie season here.”
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
More must-reads: