Raiders Promote a Former Viking Ahead of Week 14 Showdown
The Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders are just a couple days away from their Week 14 matchup.
The two teams desperately need to win this game if they have any hopes of making the playoffs this season. Las Vegas sits at 5-7 while Minnesota is an even 6-6 through their first 12 games. Ahead of this weekend’s showdown, the Raiders promoted a former Vikings player from the practice squad to the active roster.
Raiders Promote a Former Viking
That player is Janarius Robinson, whom the Vikings selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Raiders announced the decision earlier this week, tweeting from their PR account, “#Raiders roster moves: Signed #97 DE Janarius Robinson to the active roster from the practice squad. Signed #49 DE Charles Snowden to the practice squad.”
Robinson spent his collegiate years at Florida State. During his four seasons with the Seminoles, the pass-rusher put together 104 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles. For his efforts, the Vikings selected him with the 134th overall pick during 2021, Rick Spielman’s final draft as GM in Minnesota.
This draft proved to be an infamous one for the Vikings. It did result in playmakers like Christian Darrisaw and Camryn Bynum. However, it also included selections like Wyatt Davis, Kellen Mond, and Chazz Surratt. Of the 11 selections in that class, only Darrisaw, Bynum, Pat Jones, and Kene Nwangwu remain on the roster.
Unfortunately for Robinson, he missed his entire debut season with a lower-body injury and was placed on IR in August. As a result, he was one of the many players cut prior to the 2022 season when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell took over the general managing and head coaching positions with the team.
The Philadelphia Eagles were the team to pick Robinson up two weeks later where he spent the entire 2022 season. Injuries would strike again for the young pass rusher, and he was placed on IR in October. Once again, he was unable to play in a regular season game.
The Eagles would be the second team to cut Robinson prior to the 2023 season, and he hopped on to the Raiders practice squad. He finally made his NFL debut just a couple weeks ago during Las Vegas’ Week 12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He appeared in 3 defensive snaps and recorded a tackle during the game.
Now, Robinson could be set to take on an increased role in his first game against the team that drafted him. Kickoff between the Raiders and Vikings is scheduled for 3:05 PM Central on Sunday, December 10th.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.