ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Greg Robinson was surprised. The Rams, like so many other teams in the NFL, were finishing up their offseason work. He was out in Los Angeles. Then he found out he’d be spending his Wednesday night on a flight.
And heading to a new home.
The Rams traded the 2014 No. 2 overall draft pick to the Detroit Lions – a team badly in need of offensive tackle help after Taylor Decker's shoulder injury -- which meant a late-night flight from L.A. to Detroit and then a morning spent at the Lions' practice facility, watching the team go through the final day of minicamp.
It’s a break for Robinson, who didn’t work out at left tackle or on the interior for the Rams and had a conversion to right tackle this offseason not go as he planned. That, in many ways, describes his entire tenure with Los Angeles.
“Haven’t really went the way I would like,” Robinson said. “But I think at this point, besides all the negatives, just trying to improve as much as possible and that’s all I can offer.”
He didn’t discuss what went wrong with the Rams, saying “It’s new for everyone” when asked why things failed in Los Angeles. But he believes he’ll benefit from a new beginning with a team that needs his help.
He’s entering an open competition with a bunch of candidates to replace Decker: Corey Robinson, Joe Dahl, Cornelius Lucas, Tony Hills, the newly acquired Cyrus Kouandjio and Robinson. So he’ll enter training camp with few preconceived notions and no pecking order to climb.
“I plan on benefiting from it tremendously, you know,” Robinson said. “I think throughout the course of my career, it’s really refreshing and I plan to make the most out of it, yeah.”
Neither Robinson nor Kouandjio, though, would be a definitive replacement for Decker. Both had their failings in their previous stops.
Robinson was moved multiple times and couldn’t find success at left tackle, right tackle or guard. He’s very athletic but didn’t seem to adjust to the NFL all that well. He led all NFL players over the past two years in penalties (24) and was fifth in penalty yardage (204).
Kouandjio, released by Buffalo in May, has had some off-field issues and has dealt with hip and ankle injuries. He spoke with the media for 1 minute, 15 seconds and addressed the off-field issues by saying only that they were in the past and things were blown out of proportion.
On paper this might look good for Detroit -- acquiring two former top-50 draft picks to help solve the Decker problem. But in reality, the Lions will have to wait and see whether either move will actually make a difference or if the team’s season will hinge on how fast Decker can get back on the field.
