AP source: Rams working to send WR Robinson to Steelers

Updated Apr. 18, 2023 4:01 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers are working on a deal that would send wide receiver Allen Robinson to Pittsburgh.

A source with knowledge of the pending agreement tells the Associated Press on Tuesday that Los Angeles would send Robinson and its seventh-round pick (No. 251 overall) in the draft to the Steelers for one of Pittsburgh's two seventh-round picks (No. 234).

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal is not official until Robinson passes a physical scheduled for Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Robinson caught just 33 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games for the Rams in 2022 before being lost for the season with a foot injury.

NFL Network first reported the trade. ESPN reported that Los Angeles will eat the majority of the $15.25 million in guaranteed money Robinson is scheduled to make in 2023.

The trade gives the Steelers a veteran presence in a decidedly young wide receivers room. Robinson, who turns 30 in August, joins a group that includes Diontae Johnson (26), George Pickens (22) and Calvin Austin III (24), who missed all of last season with an injury.

The move also perhaps moves Pittsburgh away from using one of its early draft choices on a receiver. The Steelers have made a habit of taking wideouts early and often. Pittsburgh has used one of its top three picks in the draft on a wide receiver in five of the past six years.

Robinson made the Pro Bowl while playing for Jacksonville in 2015, his second season in the NFL. His production, however, has steadily declined since he left the Jaguars for Chicago in 2018 and is now considered a possession receiver. He has averaged 11.7 yards per reception or less in three of his past four seasons.

Robinson signed a three-year, $46.5 million deal with the Rams in 2022 but with Los Angeles in the midst of a massive roster makeover, he was granted permission to seek a trade.

The move is a semi-homecoming for Robinson, who starred at Penn State — located in State College, Pennsylvania, three hours northeast of Pittsburgh — from 2011-13 before being taken in the second round of the 2014 draft by Jacksonville.

The move is a low-risk one for the Steelers, who are essentially taking a $5 million flyer on Robinson and hoping he can have an impact on younger players such as Pickens, who was dynamic at times during an eventful rookie season in 2022.

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