Keenan Robinson likes it better here than where he was the past four years, working for the Redskins, living in Northern Virginia. The new Giants linebacker has a chance to make a new football home for himself and, just maybe, emerge as the starting middle linebacker on a revamped defense.
He already knows one thing: Living where he does now beats where he came from.
“I don’t know, man — I really didn’t know too much about New Jersey or New York until I got out here,’’ Robinson said recently after an Organized Team Activity practice. “I didn’t know what to expect, but when I got here I kind of loved it. It’s very fast-paced. Everybody is always in a rush, always in a hurry. But as far as things to do, places to eat, bringing my family out here, I love it. It’s very family friendly, and there’s a lot of stuff to do, so you don’t get bored. In Virginia, you have to drive 30 minutes to the closest thing to do something with your family— go to Maryland or go to D.C., so out here there is something everywhere.
“Ashburn, Virginia and New Jersey out here is night and day.’’
Enjoying life in his new surroundings is all well and good, but Robinson needs to prove himself to the Giants in order to stay around. He arrived on the tail end of the quick-strike free agency spending spree that imported defensive starters Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and Damon “Snacks” Harrison, three players who, combined, cost more than $200 million. Robinson did not join in that windfall, signing a one-year contract worth $2.6 million — a show-me deal for a 26-year old who could play a major role if he stays healthy.
In many ways, Robinson is a prototype Giants linebacker of the past decade, which is not necessarily a good thing. For years, the Giants have selected linebackers in the middle rounds of the draft, hoping to find players they can develop into starters, but after several nondescript seasons, the contracts expire and there is little or no interest in re-signing these come-and-go linebackers.
Robinson spent four years with the Redskins writing a similar script. He was a 2012 fourth-round pick of the Redskins out of Texas and played out his four-year rookie contract, doing some impressive work on the field but unable to cure the injury bug. When he became a free agent, the Redskins did not show much desire to keep him.
Robinson suffered season-ending injuries his first two NFL seasons. He’s been sidelined twice with torn pectoral muscles and endured shoulder and knee issues. His best season was 2014, when he started 13 games and had a career-high 109 tackles. Last season, he was inactive four games with a shoulder injury. When he was healthy and ready to return, the Redskins decided to turn him into a reserve and keep fill-in Will Compton in the lineup as the starting middle linebacker.
Thus far with the Giants, Robinson is working his way in. Wednesday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo turned Robinson loose to make the defensive calls for the first time. Veteran Jasper Brinkley, who in his first year with the Giants filled in for injured Jon Beason and started nine games, likely will get a long look as the starter in the middle. Rookie B.J. Goodson, a fourth-round pick from Clemson, will compete for time.
Robinson is 6-3 and 236 pounds, not big by middle linebacker standards, and, with his ability to drop and cover, could be able to stay on the field all three downs — a big plus. He also is getting snaps at outside linebacker, on the weak side.
“I pride myself on being a well-rounded athlete and a football player,’’ Robinson said. “I’ve always tried to make sure every area of the game I can contribute and help the team, so I make sure in the offseason that I focus on every individual area as far as coverage, as far as run stopping, as far as being able to run and be athletic, so I think I can help the team in that aspect.’’