After starting left tackle Dawand Jones went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Cleveland Browns decided to make a trade to address that issue.
Instead of looking internally, the Browns went ahead and traded for nine year veteran and left tackle Cam Robinson from the Houston Texans for a pair of late round 2027 draft picks according to NFL Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
This will be Robinson’s fourth team in two seasons starting off with the Jaguars, where he spent the bulk of his career, and was traded to the Minnesota Vikings last season. Then this past offseason, the Texans had signed him to a one year deal worth about $12 million.
That only lasted about three games.
The move for Houston is a bit perplexing considering how much the Texans’ offensive line has struggled to protect their quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Either way, one team’s scraps could be another team’s treasure.
An interesting part of Robinson’s game this season is that he’s excelled more as a run-blocker than a pass-blocker – a total inverse of what we’re used to seeing out of the veteran.
In three games, he has an OK 66.3 PFF grade, which is 33rd out of 105 tackles, but his pass block grade is in the lower tier, while his run block grade is in the top-25.
Yet, even though his numbers have been fairly pedestrian this season, Robinson is still one of the NFL’s more effective and durable tackles.
Prior to signing with the Texans, Robinson has held a 75.8 PFF pass-blocking grade since 2022. Not only that, he’s been readily available when needed.
Out of a possible 137 games played, he’s only missed 30, with one season being his second season and tearing his ACL, and then in 2023 missed seven games due to a meniscus injury.
Last season when he was traded midseason by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Minnesota Vikings, he managed to play every game, and he only missed one game with Houston due to him serving as a backup to rookie Aireontae Ersery.
There’s still a lot of work to be done with the Browns’ offensive line, especially having to figure out what is going on with the perpetually injured Jack Conklin.
Regardless, this move gives Robinson the opportunity to play right away, and it gives the Browns a reliable tackle that they’ve desperately needed.
Cleveland’s next game will be taking place in London, England at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings. Kickoff will take place at 9:30 a.m. ET.