After months of speculation, the Jacksonville Jaguars finally traded Cam Robinson. They sent him to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a late-round selection in 2026. However, the Jags also had to give up a draft pick and pay part of his salary to facilitate a trade. This begs the question, how good the trade really was?
Jacksonville sent Robinson to the Vikings a few days after the Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The trade seemed to be a likely outcome based on a series of things that took place during the game. The Alabama product was in concussion protocol on the days preceding the contest but he was cleared to play. However, the coaching staff decided to start fourth-year pro Walker Little.
While head coach Doug Pederson says that Robinson took to the decision well, John Shipley of Sports Illustrated says that the veteran left tackle looked disengaged throughout the game, pointing out that he kept his distance from the offense.
Given that Robinson had been the subject of trade conversations since the end of the 2023 season, it's not surprising that he was dealt before the deadline. The question was where he was going to land. The New York Giants seemed like a good fit after losing Andrew Thomas to injury earlier this year. The New England Patriots, the Washington Commanders, and even the Pittsburgh Steelers also appeared to be logical destinations because they all needed help at left tackle.
But the Minnesota Vikings became the favorite landing spot for Robinson after they lost Christian Darrisaw for the season. The former Jaguars left tackle is set to hit the open market in 2025, so he'll have a chance to boost his stock ahead of free agency. The same is true for former teammate Little, who'll get an opportunity to prove he can be Trevor Lawrence's sideline protector long-term.
The Jaguars trade Cam Robinson to the Vikings to replace Christian Darrisaw: How it happened
In exchange for Cam Robinson, the Jacksonville Jaguars got a fifth-round pick in 2026 that can become a fourth if he meets playtime conditions. All things considered, that's a solid deal for a nine-game rental. The trouble is in the details, which make the deal look a bit less solid.
To facilitate the trade, the Jags had to pay some of Robinson's salary. More specifically, he was owed a bit over $9 million for the remainder of the season, none of it guaranteed, and they absorbed $7 million.
To facilitate the trade of Cam Robinson to the Vikings, the Jaguars absorbed just over $7M of his remaining base salary, per source.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 30, 2024
The Vikings will owe Robinson $2M in base salary plus $58,824 for each game he is active for the rest of this season.
Robinson can begin…
On top of that, Jacksonville also had to part ways with a seventh-round selection in 2026. So the final compensation looks like this:
Add the fact that the Jags had to pay part of Robinson's salary and the trade looks lopsided. That said, that was the best offer general manager Trent Baalke was going to get. You could argue that he should've asked for a fourth or a third. The issue with that is that he probably did, but nobody was willing to meet his asking price. This doesn't make the end result look any better, but context is necessary. There wasn't a big market for the veteran market and Baalke got what he could.
The bottom line is that the Jacksonville Jaguars chose to get something in exchange for Robinson instead of letting him walk for nothing in 2025. A conditional fourth in 2026 is certainly something.
Grade: C-