LOS ANGELES — It was clear from talking to members of the Los Angeles Rams front office and coaching staff at the NFL’s annual league meetings, that the team isn’t sure whether wide receiver Allen Robinson II will still be a Ram at the start of the 2023 season.
Los Angeles has been taking trade calls on Robinson, who is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. After signing a three-year, $46.5 million contract with two seasons of guaranteed salary last offseason, he totaled just 33 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games, ending up on injured reserve to end 2022 after needing foot surgery.
But because Robinson’s 2023 salary is guaranteed, there’s a chance the receiver is still on the roster to start next season.
If so, Rams head coach Sean McVay said he’s made it clear to Robinson that, “I’m going to pour everything I have in you as a player, try to help you reach your highest potential, make sure that it’s an enjoyable experience where you love coming into work.”
General manager Les Snead said McVay and new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s goal this offseason needs to be how to best utilize the receiver.
“We always say what are the superpowers of each player [and how can we] get the most out of them?” Snead said. “ … Probably a lot of times you feel like him being in a role like Cooper [Kupp] could be the most beneficial, but are you going to take one of the two off the field? So now I know now you have to figure out, ‘OK, how do you make that work?’ That would be on Sean and Mike to get that done.”
McVay said he and LaFleur are focused on setting up the foundation of the offense as a whole before focusing on individual players and are still “navigating through” Robinson’s role in the offense.
“You always want to have a vision for your players, but there still is a foundational part of your operation offensively in particular that you want to be able to set,” McVay said, adding that Robinson’s role is “unique” because there were so many moving parts around him last season due to the injuries the Rams dealt with on offense.
“We talked about [quarterback] Matthew [Stafford], we talked about the offensive line, and in so many instances, particularly the receiver position, is relying on those positions to be able to influence and affect the game the way that you want to,” McVay added.
But there’s certainly a chance the Rams can find a team interested in trading for the veteran receiver. At the start of free agency, the Rams let Robinson know that they could see themselves in trade rumors this offseason. Snead said the Rams “let [Robinson] know that we would definitely listen and talk to other teams, but because of his contract situation, it being guaranteed, there is a possibility that he’s a Ram on the field in ‘23.”
If the Rams trade Robinson before June 1, they’d incur $11.2 million of dead money in 2023 and save $6.85 million of salary cap space, according to Over the Cap. If the trade takes place after June 1, that dead money number drops to $2.8 million in 2023 and would save Los Angeles $15.25 million of cap space.
The Rams aren’t in any rush, especially because Robinson’s $10 million salary is in line with some of the other receiver deals signed this offseason. The New York Jets signed wide receiver Allen Lazard to a deal with an AAV of $11 million; the Las Vegas Raiders signed wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to a deal with the same annual value. The New England Patriots signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a deal worth an AAV of $8.5 million per season and former Rams receiver Robert Woods signed a deal with the Houston Texans worth an average of $7.625 million per year.
The Rams believe there could still be interest in the wide receiver, especially as teams re-evaluate their roster after the draft and free agency. Los Angeles is also willing to pay some of Robinson’s salary in a trade, a team source told ESPN, depending on the draft compensation they get in return.
The Rams went away from their typical model by signing Robinson in 2022. He was the only true unrestricted free agent signing the Rams have made since 2018, Snead said, adding that left tackle Andrew Whitworth and wide receiver Robert Woods were the only others since McVay came on board.
Los Angeles relies so heavily on the compensatory pick formula to maintain a roster highlighted by star players and filled out by Day 3 draft picks that they typically do not stray from their mode of not signing star players as unrestricted free agents. The exception was Robinson, who the Rams pivoted to after linebacker Von Miller opted to sign with the Buffalo Bills instead of re-signing with Los Angeles.
And although Robinson’s future in Los Angeles is uncertain, McVay said, “I don’t think it’s uncomfortable because those are the realities of the situation.”
“If he is here, be excited about it,” McVay said. “And if he’s not, then you wish him best in his next stop. And so that’s kind of where we’re at. If that’s where the situation remains, where he’s a Ram and we start that offseason program on April 17, I’m looking forward to going to work with him.”
