Tackle reality stares Patriots in the face as another top free agent comes off market
The best available free agent left tackle came off the market Wednesday, further draining the well of options for the New England Patriots to fill their biggest need.
Cam Robinson is signing with the Houston Texans, as first reported by Jordan Schultz, who later added that it’s a one-year deal worth up to $14.5 million. Mark Daniels of MassLive had previously reported that there was “interest” in the tackle from the Patriots’ side.
Robinson started 17 games in 2024 between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings, after being traded to the latter during the season. He’s played in 101 games in eight seasons, all starts, and has lined up at left tackle virtually every snap of his career.
Robinson allowed a league-high 64 total pressures among all tackles in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. His 94.4% pass-blocking efficiency was 89th among those with at least 100 snaps as a pass-blocker, coincidentally tied with the Patriots’ Demontrey Jacobs.
Due to Robinson’s drop-off in performance, it became debatable whether he’d even be an upgrade over Vederian Lowe, the incumbent. But Robinson was still the most experienced left tackle on the market, and a better option than anyone else in-house after Lowe.
The Patriots “will likely rely on the draft (or trades on draft weekend) to find answers to its most pressing personnel questions on offense,” according to Christopher Price at the Boston Globe.
The chance remains that the Patriots could trade for a left tackle – as the Washington Commanders did when they acquired Laremy Tunsil from the Texans, creating the opening for Robinson to go to Houston. But it’s also looking more likely that the Pats will target LSU’s Will Campbell with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft. Campbell, like a proven veteran, would immediately become the projected starting left tackle in New England.
As for the remaining free agent pool, the Patriots are at the point that they wouldn’t be adding a sure starter on the left side, but could still use a vet for depth and competition. Tyron Smith, D.J. Humphries, and Jedrick Wills Jr. are among the most notable unsigned free agents with considerable left tackle experience.
The reality is that the 2025 Patriots may have to hope they identify their next left tackle in the draft. If they want to replicate the rapid success enjoyed by the aforementioned Commanders over the past season, one of the best moves to emulate is the selection of Brandon Coleman in the third round of the 2024 draft – cruelly, one pick before the Patriots took right tackle Caedan Wallace.
Coleman shared snaps with veteran Cornelius Lucas in the first half of the Commanders’ season, before taking over the full-time left tackle job in Week 9. He finished with a serviceable 59.8 grade from PFF, and his 95.5% pass-blocking efficiency ranked 28th out of 32 tackles with at least 1,000 total snaps. So it’s fair to note that Coleman wasn’t exactly an All-Pro over there. It also helped to have a budding franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels behind him, and to be complemented by a solid right side of the line with center Tyler Biadasz, right guard Sam Cosmi, and right tackle Andrew Wylie.
But the Patriots’ next left tackle already has the quarterback, as Drake Maye enters his second year to work with the returning Josh McDaniels. He may even have the right side of the line, too, with right guard Mike Onwenu back, and free agents Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses arriving at center and right tackle. It’s becoming a pretty good environment for a rookie.
But that’s what the Patriots face. They may have to address their most pressing roster need with a kid. It’s not necessarily an “unfortunate” reality, because it’s still possible that Campbell transcends his controversial arm length, and rides his size and athleticism to a career as a franchise left tackle. But it’s a risky reality.
And it only became more real with yet another viable option signing elsewhere.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
