The reply is … by no means.
The query: When was the final time you went into cut-down day not realizing in case your spot on the roster was safe?
That is uncharted territory for Allen Robinson, who has executed a lot in his decade within the NFL however has not gone by means of this earlier than.
“No, I haven’t,” he mentioned Saturday evening, standing in entrance of a locker he may or won’t inhabit on sport days for the Giants this season.
It may be an anxious few days for therefore many gamers because the Giants and the remainder of the league undergo a bloodletting, decreasing from 90 to 53 gamers to assemble preliminary rosters.
Gamers will then be coming and going by way of the waiver wire earlier than the precise first-game roster is ready earlier than the Giants tackle the Vikings on Sept. 8 at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants lower 12 gamers on Sunday and Robinson lives for one more day.
There isn’t any one within the constructing with Robinson’s pedigree, so far as a large receiver.
He has 562 profession receptions for 7,028 yards and 43 touchdowns throughout 10 seasons with the Jaguars, Bears, Rams and Steelers.
He was signed in early Could to a one-year deal price $1.4 million and the Giants assured solely $25,000 of it, which means he arrived having to indicate that there was life in his legs and he might provide one thing to the workforce.
Robinson achieved the exhausting half, remaining wholesome all through the summer time, by no means lacking a factor as he turned 31 on Saturday.
He was a dependable however not explosive cross catcher and didn’t flip heads with any playmaking verve.
Robinson did make a robust impression together with his management and sophistication and there’s no doubt these traits can be welcome in a large receiver room full of youth.
Rookie Malik Nabers is 21, Jalin Hyatt is 22, Wan’Dale Robinson is 23 and solely Darius Slayton (27) has a voice of expertise at this place group.
“I need to be the perfect teammate I can as a result of once you’re round these guys for 3, 4, 5 months you’re in a position to create that bond,” Allen Robinson mentioned. “It’s not a price factor for me. It’s everytime you’re in a room like this and also you spend the quantity of hours as you do round these guys any method I can assist guys get higher, on the sector, off the sector, no matter which may be, soccer, restoration, life I attempt to at all times preserve it that.”
Robinson performed 28 of the 67 snaps on offense because the Giants closed out their preseason with a 10-6 loss to the Jets.
The extra enjoying time on this explicit sport, the much less of an opportunity the participant will stick round. Robinson gained 10 yards on an end-around and caught one cross for 4 yards on his solely goal.
Within the preseason, Robinson caught three passes for 23 yards. He clearly is a great distance from his peak — 80 receptions for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Jaguars in 2015 — and he may extra resemble the participant who didn’t do a lot (34 catches for 280 yards in 17 video games) final season for the Steelers.
“That is going into yr 11 for me, having the ability to be out there each coaching camp follow, having the ability to make performs, so on and so forth every day and exhibiting consistency,” Robinson mentioned. “I feel that’s the largest factor on this league, how constant are you able to be? I’ve at all times challenged myself as a participant to be that.
“I really feel like I’ve made performs. I really feel I used to be in a position to stack days collectively throughout coaching camp.”
The issue is there most likely isn’t any room for Robinson, the way in which the Giants roster is constructed on the place.
4 spots are set — Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Hyatt and Slayton — and two spots determine to get claimed by particular teams-centric gamers — Miles Boykin and both Gunner Olszewski or Isaiah McKenzie, probably Olszewski.
If the Giants decide to go together with seven receivers, Allen Robinson and Isaiah Hodgins can be thought-about for the ultimate spot.
It doesn’t assist both of them that they don’t contribute on particular groups — an enormous detriment for a back-of-the-roster participant. One other receiver, Bryce Ford-Wheaton, 24, is an enhancing particular groups performer.
Robinson says making the workforce has not consumed his ideas: “It’s exhausting to look outdoors at issues once you’re within the midst of a race, it’s exhausting to look proper, it’s exhausting to look left, at the least for me it’s.’’
The nice or dangerous information will come quickly sufficient.
“No matter goes to occur goes to occur,” Robinson mentioned. “For those who requested me this just a few weeks in the past, so far as how I method it, I’d have mentioned, ‘Put collectively good days in coaching camp, be constant.’ At this stage of the sport no matter is supposed to be is supposed to be.’’
