The 2024 season saw Allen Robinson receive the opportunity to play for his hometown team. The veteran receiver could again find himself with the Lions this offseason, but he is giving thought to retirement. 
“For me it’s more so about figuring out what my future in this game and in this league looks like,” Robinson said of his outlook (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “So for me it’s now just taking time to evaluate what next year looks like for me in general. That’s kind of where I’m at with it. So I’m taking some time to make this decision with my family.”
Robinson’s career began with a four-year Jaguars spell which included a Pro Bowl nod followed by four seasons with the Bears. During his Chicago time, the former second-rounder topped 1,100 yards twice, but he has been unable to duplicate that success since. A three-year Rams pact resulted in only one season with Los Angeles, and in 2023 a trade sent him to the Steelers.
The Penn State product was released last offseason, leaving him on the move once again. Robinson joined the Giants but he failed to make their roster, leading him to pivot to the Lions just before the start of the regular season. In all, he made 12 appearances during the campaign but registered only three receptions while logging a snap share of only 11%.
Birkett notes the Lions are open to bringing Robinson back, but a decision will first need to be made regarding his playing future. Detroit has Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond atop the WR depth chart entering 2025. Tim Patrick – who provided complementary production this past season – is a pending free agent but he could remain in place on a new Detroit deal. That would stand to limit Robinson’s upside even if he were to continue playing and re-sign with the Lions.
Robinson (who made it clear he intends to shift to a career in media once he hangs up his cleats) is a veteran of 142 combined regular and postseason games. His career earnings currently stands at just over $95MM.
It’s a shame he never played with a good quarterback while still in his prime, but I think he just doesn’t have anything but scraps left. Great receiver for some offenses that didn’t deserve him over the course of his career.
That old chestnut “I never played with a good quarterback” gets a bit lame after awhile. How many good QBs did Larry Fitzgerald have throwing passes to him?
Fitzgerald had Palmer and Warner. He also had a lot of bad quarterbacks, but the “chestnut” absolutely fits with Robinson. Robinson didn’t even have good quarterback play in college.
Even WRs who had good QBs to support them manage to under perform badly. We could list dozens of such players. Sky Moore immediately comes to mind but perhaps Mahomes wasn’t a good enough QB for him.
Nah it’s crazy the thumbnail photo is a picture of him throwing. That’s disrespectful