The Minnesota Vikings have many difficult questions to answer this offseason before they prepare for the 2025 season. One that no one wants to think about is, “Will Cam Robinson be back in Minnesota for 2025?”
Robinson was put in a tough spot during the 2024 season. He started the season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team he had spent his entire career with up to this point. Through some poor play, injuries, and other extenuating circumstances, Robinson had fallen out of favor with the Jaguars’ decision-makers, and found himself benched. After that, it had become clear his time in Jacksonville would be coming to an end sooner rather than later.
Luckily for Robinson, the Vikings had a need for someone at the position after starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw blew out his knee and was lost for the season. Minnesota got on the phone with Jacksonville, and Robinson was traded just days after his benching.
Robinson filled in admirably for Darrisaw during his time with the Vikings. He wasn’t spectacular, and he sure wasn’t up to the caliber that Darrisaw had set for the Vikings, but he was solid. There were a lot of issues with the Vikings offensive line in 2024, but tackle play generally wasn’t one of them.
Unfortunately for Robinson, he finds himself outside looking in with the Vikings. Robinson is schedule to hit free agency, and with Darrisaw ostensibly coming back next season and right tackle Brian O’Neill being named to the Pro Bowl, it’s hard to imagine Robinson back in Purple and Gold.
The team at Spotrac projects Robinson to sign a three-year deal for an average of $14 million per year. That would be a slight downgrade from the $17 million per year that Robinson played under during his last contract, but would still put him in the top half of starting left tackles in the league.
It’s hard to imagine the Vikings — even with their significant amount of cap space heading into free agency — being willing to pay that much for a player who will likely be relegated to the bench when Darrisaw returns.
However, it’s not completely out of the question. Robinson was solid, if not spectacular, as a fill-in for Darrisaw. If Darrisaw suffers a setback in his rehab and isn’t ready to go at the start of the season, there may be a scenario in which Robinson comes back to the Vikings. That money may be hard to swallow for Vikings’ brass, but they may not have many better options.