Chicago Bears are increasing this rookies playing time

Now that the Chicago Bears are 3-8, the season is all about seeing what the team has for potential players next season. One player that we expected to see more playing time by now has been Dominique Robinson.

When the team traded Robert Quinn, the expectation was that it opened up snaps for Robinson. However, two games after the trade his role was the same. Instead, the team moved Al-Quadin Muhammad to the other side of the line and gave Trevis Gipson a full work share.

Chicago Bears are giving Dominique Robinson starters snaps

Muhammad missed week 10, so Robinson and Gipson both saw full snaps. They only had Gerri Green and Kinglsey Jonathan as depth. Still, in week 11, the team brought back Muhammad, and also added Taco Charlton.

Still, despite getting their starter back, and adding depth, we saw even more Robinson on Sunday. His overall snaps were down from 54 to 49, but they were up from 87% to 89% this week. He only missed six snaps all game, making him of the highest-working defenders on the team.

Meanwhile, Gipson went from 74% and 89% to 64% with Muhammad back on his side, rotating with him. Muhammad did give Robinson a blow for the majority of the snaps that he was off of the field.

Still, Muhammad played 26 snaps, and that was 20 on Gipson’s side, and six on the end of Robinson’s. This makes sense. The team drafted Robinson, but not Gipson. Gipson earned the bigger role earlier in the season, but in the three games without Quinn, his production fell off a cliff.

So, the team now has a responsibility to see exactly what they have in Robinson. Robinson has not produced in the two games he has a full workload. Still, unlike Gipson, he really is not expected to. This is still a project player who was a wide receiver not long ago.

Getting him these reps is huge because he can learn how pass rushers set up moves, and work series-to-series throughout the game. If he continues to show nothing, oh well, but if the light can start to turn on, it would be a major win.

At the very least there is a better chance that things click for Robinson than for Muhammad and Gipson. Beyond that, Robinson is the only one guaranteed on the roster next season barring health. It makes sense for the Chicago Bears to keep giving Dominique Robinson a full snap share, even when Muhammad is back and healthy.