Defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson’s description of himself helps explain why the Carolina Panthers targeted the former Alabama All-American in NFL free agency this offseason.
“How do I describe myself?” Robinson said during Episode 2 of “Panthers Blueprint ‘24,” a video series on the team’s website. “Mean, nasty, aggressive, angry. We ain’t friends on that line. I’m going to do everything I can to mess you up. I’m here to hurt people’s hearts, hurt people’s feelings. I like fighting. …
“D-line, you’re hitting every play, so it’s like a fight every play. As a competitor, you want those things on you. You know why? Your brothers have your back. Your brothers are willing to work for you. They’re willing to do or die for you. They’re willing to do anything out there for you.”
In the 2023 season, Robinson logged 515 defensive snaps in 17 games, with 13 starts, for the New York Giants. He recorded 62 tackles and six tackles for loss.
Robinson finished tied for ninth among the NFL’s defensive-interior linemen in tackles in 2023 and was the only player in the top nine who played fewer than 750 defensive snaps.
Robinson signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with Carolina in March. Tuesday night’s episode of “Panthers Blueprint ‘24″ indicates Carolina’s personnel department wanted a defensive end who is “extremely tough and competitive, can anchor at the point of attack, has play strength, heavy hands and he’s got to be able to have an explosive strike” and thought Robinson fit that description.
With Robinson added to returning defensive linemen Shy Tuttle and former Auburn All-American Derrick Brown, the Panthers decision-makers figured “it’s going to be hard … for a team to run the football against us.”
Robinson was a consensus All-American at Alabama and played on a CFP national-championship team in 2015, his final season with the Crimson Tide.
A second-round draft choice of the Lions in 2016, Robinson spent his first four NFL seasons with Detroit before signing with the Los Angeles Rams in March 2020 in free agency.
In Carolina, Robinson reunited with Ejiro Evero, who was a defensive assistant when Robinson played for the Rams in 2020 and 2021 and is now the defensive coordinator of the Panthers. Los Angeles won the NFL championship for the 2021 season. Robinson made six tackles and recorded one sack in the Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
The Panthers concluded their offseason program last week. Carolina will reconvene in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 23, when the team’s veterans report for training camp. The Panthers open their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 by visiting the New England Patriots and kick off the 2024 campaign on Sept. 8 with an NFC South road game against the New Orleans Saints.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
