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The New York Jets have lost another player from the 2022 squad.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero announced on Wednesday, March 15 that the New England Patriots have signed veteran running back James Robinson to a two-year deal that has a maximum value of $8 million.
James Robinson Will Have Chance at Jets Revenge in 2023
Ahead of the new league year kicking off on Wednesday, March 15, ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler shared that the Jets wouldn’t be placing a tender on the restricted free-agent running back.
That decision allowed the 24-year-old who will turn 25 before the start of the 2023 season to become an unrestricted free agent.
It didn’t take long for the former Illinois State product to find a new home on the NFL market.
ESPN Patriots Reporter Mike Reiss believes the youngster projects to fill the “Damien Harris role behind Rhamondre Stevenson” in New England.
Shortly after the signing reached social media, Robinson sent out his first words as a member of the Patriots:
“Let’s get it! Time to go to work!”
Robinson showed a lot of promise during his first two and a half-seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets ended up trading for him last season after Breece Hall went down with a torn ACL.
While Robinson played a key role in one of the Jets’ best wins of the season versus the Buffalo Bills, his overall contributions were lackluster.
So much so that the team decided to bench him near the end of the season which ruffled a lot of feathers.
Now they’ll get a chance to see him twice a year on a division rival starting in 2023.
Jets Looking in a New Direction for a Running Back
Hall was on pace to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year last season. Heck Garrett Wilson even admitted at the award banquets that if Hall stayed healthy he would have “run away” with the honors.
However, that never transpired because he tore his ACL in Week 7. There have been conflicting reports on when he is expected to be 100 percent.
With that level of uncertainty, it would behoove the Jets to add another proven body to the mix.
One name that could make sense is Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt. Former Jets player and current television analyst Leger Douzable advocated for it on Twitter saying it “would make a lot of sense.”
Interestingly when Hall went down with his injury, general manager Joe Douglas immediately got to work. He evaluated every potential running back option available in the league and ranked them based on talent, scheme fit, and what it would cost to acquire that talent.
That included Douglas placing a call to the Browns to gauge what it would cost to acquire Hunt. Ultimately he proved too costly and the Jets went in the Robinson direction instead.
If the Jets were interested when it would have cost them a draft choice, I’d imagine they’d still be interested when all you’d have to give up is a bag of money in a suppressed running back market in free agency.
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