The New York Jets wasted no time finding Breece Hall’s replacement. The Jets reportedly made a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire running back James Robinson, who had lost his starting job, as the November 1 deadline approached.
Hall was ruled out of the Jets’ 16-9 win over the Denver Broncos in the second quarter. This season, he had 463 yards and four touchdowns on 80 carries, including a 62-yard touchdown against the Broncos.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas signed Robinson to fill the empty position left by Hall, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday. The Jets will give a 2023 conditional sixth-round draft pick to the Jaguars, which can be a fifth-rounder depending on Robinson’s performance.
“The Jets are making a big trade, acquiring Jaguars RB James Robinson to help replace injured RB Breece Hall,” NFL Insiders’ Ian Rapoport said. “Draft pick compensation is going back to the Jags.”
With Hall’s absence, the Jets were left with Ty Johnson and Michael Carter, who led the team in rushing in 2021 with 639 yards and four touchdowns, as running back options. Carter took over the running back position after Hall was carted off the field.
Given Hall’s lengthy recovery from his torn ACL, the Jets will likely make Robinson the team’s starting ball carrier, or at the very least split carries with Carter.
The Jets can use Robinson and Carter together at running back. After losing Hall, Robinson can help the Jets maintain their ground-oriented offensive style.
COMPENSATION UPDATE
The #Jets are sending the #Jaguars sixth-round pick that can become a fifth-round pick for RB James Robinson, sources tell @SNYtv
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) October 24, 2022
Robinson’s record with Jacksonville
Robinson has recorded 81 carries for 340 yards and three touchdowns this season so far. On Sunday, he played 12 offensive games with zero touches.
On the other hand, the 24-year-old made a good start in the 2022 season. In their loss to the Washington Commanders, he rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown, along with catching one TD pass. In Week 2, he had 23 carries, and in Week 3, he had 17 carries.
In his rookie season, Robinson rushed for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns on 240 carries. Then, he dropped in his second season with 164 rushes for 767 yards and eight touchdowns before suffering a left Achilles tendon injury against the Jets in Week 16.
Robinson has rushed for 2,177 yards and 18 touchdowns in three seasons with the Jaguars. His production dipped as Travis Etienne Jr. surpassed him on the team. Etienne started the last two games and outperforms Robinson in terms of stats. He rushed for 200 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in the losses to the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants, averaging 8.3 yards per carry.
Sources: The #Jets are making a big trade, acquiring #Jaguars RB James Robinson to help replaced injured RB Breece Hall. Draft pick compensation is going back to the Jags.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2022
Robinson’s contract coming to end
The Illinois State University product is nearing the end of his rookie contract. After the 2022 season, he will be a restricted free agent. It means the Jets have a chance to keep him. The Jets will then take over the remainder of his 2022 contract to go beyond with Robinson through 2023.
“As a 2020 undrafted free agent, the Jets can retain rights to James Robinson with a 2023 restricted free agent tender,” CBS Sports’ Joel Corry said. “If the 2023 salary cap is $225M, a RFA tender with a right of 1st refusal (matching rights) should be $2.629M. A 2nd round tender should be $4.308M.”
Robinson is expected to make his Jets debut against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
As a 2020 undrafted free agent, the Jets can retain rights to James Robinson with a 2023 restricted free agent tender. If the 2023 salary cap is $225M, a RFA tender with a right of 1st refusal (matching rights) should be $2.629M. A 2nd round tender should be $4.308M. https://t.co/jGvEuFev3s
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) October 24, 2022
