The Pittsburgh Steelers offense continues to display its unique creativity throughout training camp. Whether it’s throwing four tight ends into the formation or running toss sweeps with a tight end, Arthur Smith is clearly spending quality time with the greaseboard.
Most jokes aside, with the trio of preseason contests quickly approaching, so too are the cuts to the final 53-man roster. There are only so many reps available, so those guys getting uncomfortably close to the roster bubble have to take every opportunity presented to them.
Linebacker Mark Robinson isn’t unfamiliar with being on the roster bubble. He’s not unfamiliar with playing some offense, too. It seems the coaching staff put two and two together to give the former seventh-round pick his best shot at sticking around for another season with a few reps at fullback over the weekend.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ surprise decision with Mark Robinson raises eyebrows
“It’s just football,” Robinson said about his new role. “I’m down for whatever.”
Robinson played running back in high school and some in college before making the switch to linebacker at Ole Miss. At 5-foot-11, 235 pounds with solid speed and hellacious power at the point of contact, the fit at fullback makes some sense overall, even if it did catch many by surprise.
“We were talking about it in meetings, and I thought they were joking until I saw him in the offensive room,” Patrick Queen said. “It was crazy to see him on the other side of the ball.”
The rest of the jokes aside, Robinson is in a very crowded room among the Steelers' off-ball linebackers. The opportunities at fullback are simply to give him a chance to shine elsewhere.
“It’s not a completely foreign act,” Head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We wanted to give him a look at it and see what it looked like. Maybe we’ll do some more in the future with him. Maybe we’ll do some more with others.”
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While Tomlin is sugar-coating it as a non-issue, the fit of the position doesn’t take away from the desperation on the part of Robinson. With Cole Holcomb back in the mix and showing a willingness to play special teams, Malik Harrison providing similar depth in that regard, and seventh-round pick Carson Breuner being less of a project than Robinson was three years ago, the former Ole Miss defender is running out of real estate.
The offensive snaps likely won’t be enough to save him, no more than they did Kendrick Green two years ago. Undrafted free agent DJ Thomas-Jones is back from injury much sooner than most expected, and even if he doesn’t land the starting role, Connor Heyward can take on the role without eating an extra roster spot since he’ll be there anyway.
It doesn’t seem overly likely we’ll see Robinson take snaps at fullback in the upcoming preseason contests. Whether he does or not, he’s clearly in such a position where he must make the most of every single snap to have any argument to make the 53-man roster this season.