Patriots Add RB James Robinson to Their Backfield

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8 mins ago at 9:11 am ET

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

After adding wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Patriots added another player on the offensive side of the football late Wednesday night.

According to multiple reports, the New England Patriots have signed free agent running back James Robinson to a 2-year deal worth up to $8 million, which adds a big athletic pass-catching back to their backfield.

Robinson’s signing potentially signals the end for free agent Damien Harris, who appears to be on a path to playing elsewhere next season.

As for Robinson, the former undrafted free agent for the Jaguars certainly brings an impressive resume. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in just 14 games as a rookie in Jacksonville, carrying the football 240 times for 1070 yards (4.5 avg) along with scoring 7 touchdowns.

He followed that up with nearly 800 yards the following season in 2021, where he finished with 164 carries for 767 yards and 8 touchdowns. However, he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 16 that year, which ended his season.

He appeared in seven games last season for the Jaguars, where he carried 81 times for 340 yards (4.2 avg) along with three touchdowns. But Jacksonville ended up trading him to the Jets midseason following New York’s injury to Breece Hall.

From there, Robinson played in just four games the rest of the way in 2022, carrying 29 times for 85 yards (2.9 avg), including rushing seven times for just 10 yards (1.4 avg) against New England in their meeting against New York back on November 20th of last season.

That match-up ended in a 10-3 win by the Patriots following Marcus Jones’s 84-yard punt return for a touchdown with just seconds remaining in the game.

However, Robinson has also been used in the passing game, which will hopefully give the Patriots an added dynamic there. He’s caught 91 passes for 617 yards and five touchdowns during his NFL career, which will hopefully provide some balance for the club to lighten things a bit for Rhamondre Stevenson, who shouldered the majority of the load last season.

Meanwhile, Robinson appears excited to be a Patriot, tweeting about the opportunity not long after the news broke.