The Rams have benched former No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. Robinson, whom the Rams selected out of Auburn in the first round of the 2014 draft, was a healthy scratch for today’s matchup against the Saints.
Robinson started 12 of 16 regular season contests in his rookie campaign and all 16 games in 2015. However, Robinson has suffered from inconsistent play and frustrating penalties since he entered the league, and his 28 penalties over the past two years are four more than anyone else in the NFL. He has also allowed a whopping 21 quarterback hurries this year, and he ranks 75th out of 80 qualified tackles according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.
Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said of Robinson’s struggles, “[r]ecently, it’s just a matter of his technique. He’s all over the place with his feet, he’s all over the place with his hands. And when he gets in trouble, when he stops his feet, he grabs, and he gets those holding penalties that you really don’t need. So he’s got to concentrate on focusing on the little things.”
Although head coach Jeff Fisher may simply be giving Robinson a game off to get his head straight and to regain his focus, his struggles have spurred some speculation as to his status with the club heading into next year. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com wonders if this is the beginning of the end of Robinson’s tenure in Los Angeles, observing that the Rams were forced to trade a struggling Jason Smith some years ago for a pittance. Fitzgerald further points out that Robinson’s contract does make it feasible for him to be dealt if Los Angeles wants to go that route (Twitter links).
Left guard Rodger Saffold shifted over to left tackle for today’s game to take Robinson’s place.