The Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn’t let Cam Robinson get away in 2021

Will left tackle Cam Robinson have the kind of season that the Jacksonville Jaguars find a reason to keep him on the 2021 roster?

I’m pretty sure Jacksonville Jaguars fans haven’t given much thought to the organization’s plans for starting left tackle Cam Robinson past the 2020 season.

If there was a player on the roster who was facing a “crossroads” season where he needed to finally prove he could be the behemoth in charge of protecting Gardner Minshew’s blindside, this would be the case as Robinson is in the final year of his rookie deal.

Like Leonard Fournette and Dede Westbrook, this could be the final season we see all three members of the 2017 draft class on the field together in a Jacksonville Jaguars uniform. Honestly, after reading and hearing the Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone has plans to move Will Richardson to left tackle to compete with Robinson in training camp, the assumption that Robinson’s time was running out in Duval County was all I needed to know.

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But I might be wrong.

According to Russell Baxter on FanSided.com, Robinson is one player the Jaguars cannot let walk in free agency in 2021.

"“The Jaguars’ offensive line has had its ups and downs in recent years. Tackle Cam Robinson was a second-round pick from the University of Alabama back in 2017,” Baxter writes. “After missing the vast majority of 2018 (14 games), he rebounded to make 14 starts this past season. Robinson was a 15-game starter during his rookie campaign in ’17.”"

Those valid points are part of the reason Marrone and his coaching staff have higher hopes for the offensive line than the local media may have. Robinson’s health should be better this season after suffering the ACL injury early in 2018, only to come back in 2019 with questions about the strength in that leg. Another year removed gives Robinson more opportunity to prove he will be a force on the offensive line, one of the weaker units for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks were sacked 41 times total last season between Minshew and Nick Foles.

The Jaguars did little this offseason to help fortify this unit, other than bringing back Tyler Shatley, who can play multiple positions and drafted Ben Barth in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. It is believed Bartch, who played football at St. Johns in Minnesota, will play the right guard position and possibly push A.J. Cann in training camp.

How well offensive line coach George Warhop can work with this unit and help Robinson become a more complete player will help determine if the former Alabama second-round draft pick will remain with the team past his rookie deal.