The free-agent market is slow to develop for any veteran who still hasn't found a home before the NFL Draft, but Janarius Robinson is hoping his chance has arrived. The New England Patriots are giving Robinson an opportunity to work out after the veteran defensive end has watched and waited for the first two months of a new league year.
One year ago, Robinson didn't wait quite as long when he signed a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in the first week of April. For K.C., Robinson's signing was an added layer of security on the edge, a veteran who could bolster a needy position in case the draft board didn't fall the way Brett Veach wanted.
Before the draft, Robinson sounded excited to join the Chiefs and said he was a "perfect fit" for Kansas City. However, the Chiefs spent two early picks on the defensive front—a second-round choice on Omarr-Norman Lott and a third-round pick on Ashton Gillotte—and Robinson was buried on the depth chart early. From there, a fractured foot landed him on injured reserve before the regular season even began.
Janarius Robinson was injured for the entire 2025 season but the Patriots could give him a way back to the field.
Robinson will now hope to prove he's healthy as a journeyman defensive end for a team fresh off of a Super Bowl appearance. If there's anything working in Robinson's favor, it's the fact that failed stints with the Minnesota Vikings, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, and Philadelphia Eagles eventually turned into a longer run (and his first official NFL snaps) with the Las Vegas Raiders.
In 2023, the Raiders signed Robinson to the practice squad and he earned an eventual promotion late in the year. He remained on the active roster in 2024 and played in 10 games as a rotational edge (107 snaps). It was the most action for Robinson since entering the NFL, and the Chiefs likely wanted to see if he'd blossom even more in a new environment.
An injury robbed him of that window in Kansas City but perhaps the Patriots will provide such a chapter. Either way, even a free agent workout has to be heartening for a defender who has been patient sitting by the phone.
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