Jaguars Trade RB James Robinson to Jets
James Robinson's career in Jacksonville has come to an end.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report Monday night that the Jaguars had traded Robinson to the New York Jets, who lost rookie running back sensation Breece Hall to a season-ending ACL injury on Sunday.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jaguars will receive a conditional sixth-round draft pick that could become a fifth-round selection.
The trade comes a day after Robinson played just 12 snaps for the Jaguars and didn't receive a single carry. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson had previously expressed earlier on Monday confidence in what Robinson could do after starting the year off as the team's No. 1 running back.
“He has been dealing with some lower body issues, mostly in his knees right now, but he is a big part of what we’re doing," Pederson said on Wednesday.
"Just soreness, and he was dealing with it a little bit in the game. Look, I’m big about, I want to make sure, I know they’re not always going to be 100 percent, in games, but I want them to be close, and I want them to not worry about it from a mental standpoint."
Robinson, who was targeted once in the passing game, watched from the sidelines on Sunday as Travis Etienne took over as the No. 1 running back. Other players to receive carries on Sunday included Trevor Lawrence, JaMycal Hasty, Zay Jones, and Christian Kirk.
Robinson could be seen stretching on the sidelines at times during the 23-17 loss to the New York Giants, though he wasn't on the injury report throughout the week. Robinson has appeared in all seven games this year after a late-season Achilles injury in 2021,
After 51 carries in the first three weeks, Robinson has just 30 over the last four. By comparison, Etienne carried the ball 26 times in the first three weeks but has rushed 42 times over the last four games, recording over 100 yards from scrimmage in the last three and having his first 100-yard rushing day on Sunday.
"We know Travis is playing well right now, too. It doesn’t take anything away from James," Pederson said on Monday.
"It just so happens that in certain situations Travis is getting the ball, but as we move forward, we’re always going to continue to find ways to get James going, in the mix. He’s a big part of what we’re doing.”
"Again, it just goes back to how well Travis was playing at the time. Again, nothing about James’s playing time, nothing about him as a running back," Pederson said. "I’ve got a lot of confidence in James. We’re going to continue to find ways to get him on the field. I feel like, as an offense, we are better when both those guys are playing."
The Jaguars now hold 10 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Robinson signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 draft and became the team's Week 1 starter at running back, rushing for 1,070 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns as a rookie.
In 35 career games with the Jaguars, Robinson rushed for 2,177 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns and caught 89 passes for 612 yards and four touchdowns, In seven games in 2022, Robinson rushed for 340 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, while also catching nine passes for 46 yards and one touchdown.
