Texans OT Cam Robinson suffers lower-body injury during drills at The Greenbrier
According to reports, offensive tackle Cam Robinson left practice early at The Greenbrier in West Virginia on Monday with a lower-leg injury in team drills. While he was able to walk off the field, it was clear he was in pain while favoring his left leg.
He did not return to practice. Tay Ersery, who has seen most of his reps at the right tackle spot, shifted over to the left tackle role while Tytus Howard switched back to right tackle in place of second-year starter Blake Fisher. Juice Scruggs shifted inside to the right guard role while splitting reps with Ed Ingram in place of Howard.
A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Robinson inked a one-year deal worth up to $14 million this offseason to replace Tunsil following his trade to the Washington Commanders. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being traded at the deadline last season to the Minnesota Vikings as a temporary replacement for injured left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
He played in 11 games during his time in Minneapolis, helping the Vikings finish with the second-best record in the NFC while clinching a playoff spot, though his on-field play was mixed. While protecting Sam Darnold, he allowed four sacks and 49 pressures during his seven starts, including a career-worst 12 pressures in the wild-card round loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Texans are already thin at offensive tackle, having Trent Brown begin the season on the PUP list. With Fisher not getting a chance to start in place of Ersery with the position switch, Houston might view him as a long-term swing tackle with minimal upside.
This isn't to say Robinson is expected to miss time, nor should the Texans be hitting the panic mode yet, but a loss for Robinson at any point of the preseason is massive regarding the development of the offensive line long-term.
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