It kind of made sense for a couple years beforehand, but Allen Robinson finally made his way to his hometown team after final cuts last season when the Detroit Lions practice squad. He was signed to the active roster in September, but while fellow late addition Tim Patrick stepped into a notable role Robinson hardly played.
Robinson played in 12 games last season, but he played just 91 offensive snaps while totaling three catches for 30 yards. He was praised for his work ethic behind the scenes and the example he was setting as a veteran, but the production (and opportunity) just wasn’t there.
Robinson is now a free agent, and the door is open for him to return to the Lions. But after 11 NFL seasons, he is pondering what his post-playing future looks like.
Allen Robinson is considering retirement after 11 NFL seasons
“I wanted to look back and have no regrets,” Robinson told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press at the NFL Combine this week. “And that’s kind of where I’m at with it is that I don’t have (any). I’ve put everything I’ve had into this game.”“For me it’s more so about figuring out what my future in this game and in this league looks like. Playing, finishing Season 11, having a family, figuring out different things with them, moving around and stuff like that. So for me it’s now just taking time to evaluate what next year looks like for me in general. That’s kind of where I’m at with it. So I’m taking some time to make this decision with my family.”
Robinson spent Friday working for Sirius XM NFL Radio at the NFL Combine, co-hosting the “The Sirius XM Blitz” with Bruce Murray and Kirk Morrison.
Robinson attended the NFL’s broadcasting and media workshop in 2023, and he worked for Sirius XM for a day at the combine for the first time last year. He has a podcast in the works, and he produced a three-part documentary series called “Free Agency” that follows five players, Darius Slayton, Evan Engram, Jakobi Meyers and Olamide Zaccheaus, through their free agent process during the 2023 offseason. Robinson’s own experience as he sought a trade from the Rams that offseason is also chronicled in the documentary, which will debut on Roku this spring.
Robinson acknowledged to Birkett he has been considering a career in media for a while, and he will go into it that space immediately if he decides to retire.
“Early on in my career, it was a little different as far as the landscape of players’ voices and voices in the game for sure,” Robinson said. “It’s changed a lot, so as that has changed, myself and you see other players being a little bit more aggressive in that just pursuit of player media and player-driven media. I’ve kind of always had that in mind, even early in my career.”
A Detroit native and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s alum, Robinson has also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants since being drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft by the Jaguars out of Penn State. He has three 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, and one Pro Bowl selection (2015)
