Giants 90-Man Roster: LB Keenan Robinson Finds His Niche

Linebacker is always a position where the New York Giants seem to take the low-brow approach. They use late-round draft picks and troll free agency hoping to find useful, low-cost players discarded by other NFL teams.

Last season, Keenan Robinson was one of those low-rent discards the Giants took a flier on. The gambit paid off handsomely as Robinson, oft-injured in four years with the Washington Redskins, played all 16 games for the Giants and became a valued member of the Giants’ nickel and dime defensive packages.

Let’s take a closer look at Robinson as we continue our player-by-player profiles of the Giants’ 90-man roster.

2016 Season In Review

Robinson played a full season for the first time in his career and had 79 tackles and seven passes defensed. He played 782 snaps, or 70.45 percent of the defensive snaps. Starter Kelvin Sheppard played only 452 snaps, 40.72 percent.

2017 Season Outlook

The 27-year-old tested free agency, but ultimately returned to the Giants on a one-year, $3 million deal. He figures to reprise the role he played last season, this time with second-year man B.J. Goodson playing the part of early-down and run-stopping middle linebacker.

The 6-foot-3, 238-pound Robinson is well-suited to the nickel and dime role, and perhaps limiting his snaps against the run is part of what enabled him to remain healthy for a full season in 2016. As long as he remains healthy, Robinson should continue to be a valuable, productive player for the Giants in 2017.