Mark Robinson feels no pressure in a loaded LB room

When the Pittsburgh Steelers took Mark Robinson in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the team drafted a prototypical Steelers linebacker in terms of hard-hitting and physical hitting. While he was expected to be more involved defensively a season ago after receiving first-team snaps during team OTAs, it hasn’t played out that way and is actually went in the opposite direction.

Robinson dressed for all 17 games in 2023, but logged just two starts and 151 total defensive snaps. This happened after the Steelers lost several starting inside linebackers to injury. The room was so depleted due to injuries, but the team didn’t feel confident enough to put Robinson on the field and so was forced to bring Myles Jack out of retirement to fill the hole.

Now, entering the third year of his NFL career, Robinson faces an uphill battle after the team signed Patrick Queen and drafted Payton Wilson. With these additions and the return of Elandon Roberts and possibly Cole Holcomb, Robinson is at the bottom of the pecking order in the linebacker room. Knowing that, Robinson said he doesn’t feel any pressure and is just enjoying the days ahead.

“No, I don’t feel any weight, I don’t feel any pressure,” Robinson said. Steelers now. “I go out, train and enjoy the days on the grass.”

Enjoying the days on the grass is what Robinson seems to be doing. During the team’s minicamp this week, Robinson hit Pat Freiermuth during a seven-shot drill that led to a friendly exchange of words between the two competitors.

“(Freiermuth) will be fine, man,” Robinson said with a laugh. “I barely touched the guy. He was just talking a little trash, all my love though, it was nothing bad.

Although he’s currently near the bottom of the depth chart, Robinson said after two full seasons he’s comfortable playing defense and is just trying to get familiar with all the moving pieces.

“I would say (it’s different this year),” Robinson said. “A lot of things are easy for me but I’m trying to get even more familiar.”

Once in line to become a significant contributor, Robinson will have to fight to prove his worth to the team now that they are loaded at the position. If he doesn’t appear on the scene this season, his time in Pittsburgh could end sooner rather than later.

93 • Mark Robinson, inside linebacker, Ole Miss
5 feet 11 inches, 235 pounds, 24 years old, 3rd season

Acquired: The Steelers took Robinson out of Ole Miss with the 225th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Last season: Robinson cracked the Steelers’ starting rotation late in his rookie season and was expected to be a major part of the group in 2023. That wasn’t necessarily the case for the young linebacker as he didn’t ‘received only two starts and was left out. for the playing time of guys like Kwon Alexander and Mykal Walker.

In 17 games, Robinson played just 151 defensive snaps and recorded 30 combined tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Robinson had a standout performance in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens, recording five tackles, his only tackle for a loss, his one sack, a quarterback hit and his only forced fumble in just 13 defensive snaps.

Career: After the Steelers selected Robinson in the final round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he received praise for his physicality in his first round of preseason games. Robinson made his regular season debut in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he finished the game without official stats.

Robinson recorded his first career start at inside linebacker in Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game, Robinson recorded six combined tackles in 26 defensive snaps. In total, Robinson played in four games and started two as he finished the year with nine combined tackles on 44 defensive snaps.

Year	General practitioner	GS	Tackles	Bags	FF	INT	Snaps DEF	PFF category
2022	4	2	9	0	0	0	44	27.6
2023	17	2	30	1	1	0	151	54.6

College: Robinson began his collegiate career at Presbyterian College as a running back. As a true freshman, Robinson played in 11 games and recorded 75 carries, 332 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He led the team in rushing touchdowns and became the first Presbyterian player to rush for two touchdowns in a game since 2015.

Prior to the 2018 season, Robinson transferred to Southeast Missouri State and played in 13 games as a sophomore. Robinson carried the ball 74 times for 364 yards and four touchdowns.

Robinson appeared in all 13 games again in 2019 as he finished with 117 carries for 546 yards and seven touchdowns. In his second season with the Redhawks, Robinson’s workload increased, as did his statistics.

Year	School	General practitioner	Door	Yards	AVERAGE	T.D.
2017	Presbyterian	11	75	332	4.4	5
2018	Southeast Missouri State	13	74	364	4.9	4
2019	Southeast Missouri State	13	117	546	4.7	7

After the 2019 season, Robinson decided to transfer to Ole Miss but had to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. Prior to the 2o21 season, Robinson switched his position to linebacker and excelled on the defensive side of the ball in his only season playing for the Rebels.

In 2021, Robinson played in 13 games and started nine for Ole Miss. Robinson recorded 93 combined tackles, three sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. After a good season as a linebacker, Robinson declared for the NFL draft.

Year	School	General practitioner	Tackles	Bags	TFL
2020	Ole Mademoiselle	0	0	0	0
2021	Ole Mademoiselle	13	93	3.0	8.5

Salary cap and future: Robinson is entering the third year of his standard four-year rookie contract and will cost $1.01 million against the Steelers’ cap space for 2024. His 2024 cap hit includes $985,000 in base salary and a prorated bonus of $28,089. Robinson’s deal will keep him with the team through the end of the 2025 season.

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