What signing Tyrese Robinson off Vikings practice squad means for Patriots

The New England Patriots indeed made a move early on NFL trade deadline day, albeit one that did not involve any swap of assets. Instead, they decided to poach guard Tyrese Robinson off the Minnesota Vikings ' practice squad.

What does the transaction mean for the team? Let's find out.

More depth up front The offensive line being a major issue for New England all season is no secret, and the Patriots have tried on multiple occasions to address it. Robinson is the latest "throw him at the wall and see if he sticks"-type pickup, even though it remains to be seen what role he will eventually end up filling.

At the very least, he will be another player to work with. In that capacity, he will be joining an interior group currently consisting of guards Michael Onwenu, Michael Jordan, Layden Robinson, Sidy Sow and Lecitus Smith as well as center Ben Brown. The Patriots started Jordan-Brown-Robinson in Week 9 against Tennessee, but they benched the latter after 21 snaps to go with a Jordan-Brown-Onwenu group.

While Onwenu is the Patriots' best O-linemen by a significant margin, the team might see him as a tackle moving forward. If so, the newest Robinson to enter the room might get a realistic shot to compete for the RG job over the coming weeks.

Versatility as the best trait Robinson did not hear his name called in the 2022 NFL Draft, in part because his build and athletic makeup were not necessarily impressive. Measuring at just under 6-foot-3 and 317 pounds, he registered a Relative Athletic Score of only 3.03 during the pre-draft process.

That being said, he did offer some enticing versatility upon making the jump to the pros — both from a positional and from a scheme perspective.

For starters, he played at right guard (23 starts) and right tackle (15 starts) during his time at the University of Oklahoma. In total, he was on the field for 1,553 snaps at the former position, and 898 at the latter. A lack of natural length and bend will likely limit him to interior action in New England, but nothing can be ruled out either given the team's constant (and at times confusing ) personnel shuffling up front.

When it comes to his time in the NFL, he has played both left and right guard in preseason. He played 55 combined snaps on the left in 2023 and 2024, and 169 on the right. He has yet to take the field in a regular season setting, however.

As for his scheme fit, he was described as follows during the pre-draft process:

Overall, Robinson has good quickness and mobility to play in a Zone scheme and the physicality, strength and desire to finish blocks and fit in a Gap/Power scheme. He can pull in either direction and get out in front of screens and has good hand strength to control blockers. In pass protection, he mirrors well, sustains blocks and has a strong anchor. Areas to improve include consistency in his pad level, punch timing and hand placement to not overreach and maintaining a half-man relationship in pass protection

The Patriots rely heavily on zone blocking under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Robinson's power and ability to perform in a gap scheme doesn't hurt either, though, when the team does decide to play hat-on-a-hat football.

Familiarity with Rhamondre Stevenson Before joining the NFL as a rookie free agent in 2022, Robinson spent five years at Oklahoma. In two of those seasons, he was blocking for a new teammate of his: in 2019 and 2020, current Patriots lead back Rhamondre Stevenson also was a member of the Sooners program.

Stevenson combined to rush for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns in his 19 games with the school. Robinson started 25 games at right guard and right tackle during that span.

Committed for at least three weeks NFL rules stipulate that players signed off other teams' practice squads will get a minimum employment of three weeks. This means that Robinson will be paid as a member of the Patriots' roster — even if he is released beforehand — for their upcoming games against the Chicago Bears , Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins .

As a consequence, New England will invest at least $132,500 in Robinson: they will pay him a weekly salary of $44,167 regardless of him appearing in any games or not. In total, his salary cap number for the rest of the Patriots' season stands at $397,500, with none of it beyond those three weeks guaranteed.

If he is signed to a two-year deal that also includes 2025, salary cap expert Miguel Benzan projects a cap impact of $960,000 next year.

Yet another practice squad pickup Robinson is not the first former practice squad member to find his way to New England. In fact, he is the fourth to join the team in that fashion this season: the team previously added defensive end Jamree Kromah — who did not play in a game, was since released, and is now back in Chicago — as well as the aforementioned Ben Brown and Lecitus Smith that way.

Smith in particular is a player worth mentioning. He joined the Patriots off the Green Bay Packers ' developmental roster in mid-October, and spent the last three weeks on the 53-man squad without seeing any game action. His NFL-mandated salary commitment is no longer active, and expired after Week 9.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop New England will have to make a follow-up transaction with Robinson coming aboard and taking a spot on the 53-man roster. There are three ways to do so:

Trade: With the 4 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline approaching fast, New England could opt to part ways with one of its players. Wide receivers K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton appear to be the most realistic candidates to be moved, with guard Sidy Sow another name to watch.

Release: If the Patriots want to clear space via a release, Lecitus Smith is indeed the name to watch. As noted above, his salary protection is now in the rear-view mirror after he did not see any game day action since joining in mid-October.

Injured reserve: The Patriots could opt to move one of their players from the active roster to injured reserve, but it seems unlikely that the spot will be created that way. The team, after all, appears to be trending in a positive direction health-wise.

The Patriots will likely make the follow-up move later on Tuesday. Ideally, they would want Robinson in town on Wednesday for a physical and the first practice of the week.