Washington Redskins Keenan Robinson expected to be ready for OTAs

facebooktwitterreddit

The Washington Redskins lost two linebackers to torn pectorals last season, as both star OLB Brian Orakpo and young, promising ILB Keenan Robinson were placed on the injured reserve with those injuries. The loss of Orakpo was bigger not only because he is the better player and one of the integral components of the Redskins defense, but also because he suffered the injury in Week 2 after sacking St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Robinson, on the other hand, tore his pectoral in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins could get both back in time for OTAs, as Orakpo says he is feeling 100%.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, Keenan Robinson is expected to be back in time for the Redskins OTAs that begin on the 20th of May. After recording just ten tackles in 11 appearances last season, the 23-year-old Texas product is expected to receive a bigger role in the 2013 season.

Robinson will, of course, have to compete in training camp for that bigger role, and the only players he has ahead of him on the depth chart are London Fletcher and Bryan Kehl. If Robinson performs well enough, he can definitely be the primary backup to Fletcher and receive some nice playing time as a backup ILB. As Jones writes, Kehl is a versatile backup who can play at ILB and OLB, but the former fourth-round pick could make Kehl’s contributions as an inside linebacker less necessary.

He was just a rookie last season used primarily on special teams, so the Redskins feel like Keenan Robinson has some upside and some more talent to show them. With a good training camp and preseason, Robinson could be a backup linebacker to watch in the capital.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe.