LA Rams IR Allen Robinson, but do they trade him now?

The injury epidemic has spread to other positions now, folks. And my guess is that somewhere between losing rookie IOL Logan Bruss and the latest injury news regarding LA Rams wide receiver Allen Robinson, we’ve witnessed the as-of-yet undetected straw that broke the camel’s back. In a quick and dirty summation, the LA Rams have fallen below that point of no return,  and are reprioritizing their organizational goals to now prioritize assessing their young players for 2023 roles.

What do you make of Allen Robinson’s first partial season with the LA Rams? Complete bust? A work in process? Satisfactory? Flashes of NFL dominance?  Clearly, the statistics on the veteran receiver are the least productive of his career. But who should be held accountable?

The LA Rams have struggled all season to put up points, and it cannot be overemphasized that a new offensive line each week has no reasonable chance to effectively pass block for 40+ passing plays. Mix the inability to pass block with the bias of throwing to WR Cooper Kupp or TE Tyler Higbee, and you have much of the reason for Robinson’s dip in production. If you toss out his one reception season in 2017 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Robinson had the fewest yards per game, fewest yards per reception, fewest targets, and the fewest yards per touch in his NFL career.

Some fans had blindly concluded that Robinson was ineffective in the Rams’ offense because he simply could not generate enough separation to warrant targets in a game. But when that hypothesis was put to the test with actual data, the opposite proved to be true. The Rams continued to target both Cooper Kupp and Tyler Higbee, despite the fact that Robinson was getting more separation.

With Robinson out now, the Rams will have the chance to get many of their younger receivers onto the field. But what of the underwhelming season of Allen Robinson? Clearly, he offered more this season than the Rams were able to harness. Should the team simply retreat, regroup, and reload for next season? Or is there something more fundamentally not a fit for Robinson and this LA Rams offense?

Stay tuned, because much like trading away 29+-year-old WR Robert Woods last season, the Rams have a pattern of engaging in trade talks with receivers who are injured and nearing 30 years of age. It’s certainly something to monitor going forward.