When the Chicago Bears traded Robert Quinn, it appeared as though rookie Dominique Robinson was going to see a huge increase in his workload. The fifth-round rookie had been playing well as the direct backup to Quinn, so the team had to decide to either move one of Al-Quadin Muhammad or Trevis Gipson to a different side, or start Robinson.
They chose the former and started Muhammad. This has frustrated fans, as Muhammad has not made an impact. Robinson could be worse, but the idea is that they would much rather see the rookie get tossed into the deep end to see how well he can swim.
Chicago Bears are likely to start Dominique Robinson
While the Quinn trade has not changed anything about the role of Robinson, it appears that we finally will see him in a bigger spot Sunday. The Chicago Bears have listed Al-Quadin Muhammad as doubtful with a knee injury.
The new regime has been extra careful with injuries this season, and league-wide doubtful players very rarely suit up, so you can almost bet that Muhammad will be out.
The team will have to call up one of Gerri Green or Jalyn Holmes from the practice squad because they do not have enough depth otherwise. Their edge room will be Gipson, Robinson, and Kinglsey Jonathan until they add the fourth rusher.
The team surely will not have Jonathan jumping Robinson as Muhammad did, so this will be the time for Robinson to start.
In ways, it was understandable why Robinson did not start. He plays with a lot of energy, but at times it has to be contained. Too often Robinson winds up leaving his gap or losing the angle he should have had because he gets himself out of position.
Still, these are often quick instinct decisions and things that he can only improve on with more experience on the field. While we are not sure about the severity of the injury for Muhammad, this should be looked at as a chance for Robinson to win some more playing time.
If he plays well, he should cut into the healthy Muhammad’s workload, and that may help them ease Muhammad back. If it is more of a longer-term issue, then we can finally start to track progress from Dominique Robinson.