Penn State and the NFL: Allen Robinson finds new team, more offseason updates

Former Penn State receiver Allen Robinson has a new NFL home. The Michigan native will start his 11th professional season with the Giants. New York announced that it was signing the veteran pass catcher to a new deal on May 9. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It will mark the receiver’s first time playing in the NFC East.

Robinson’s production has fallen off in recent years, partially due to injury, partially due to age, and partially because of usage. He was audibly frustrated with his role in Los Angeles, where he caught 33 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns over 10 games before suffering a season-ending foot injury in 2022. After just one season on the west coast, Robinson, who spent his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before playing four years in Chicago, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023. He caught 34 passes for 280 yards in a backup role but did play in all 17 games. The team cut him in March for salary cap reasons.

How does Robinson fit in New York?

New York drafted former LSU star Malik Nabers, and he will start in 2024. The Giants’ receivers room was average at best last year, but much of it, including Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Jalin Hyatt, returns. Whether Robinson fits into the picture as a starter and oft-used contributor or reserve and mentor for what is a young room remains to be seen. But, at this stage of his career, the scoreboard, not the stat sheet, is all that matters to the former Penn State star.

“I want to win,” Robinson told The Athletic in December. “I am at the point where ego and different things like that are out the window. Whether it is a big task or a small task, I treat them all equally. Whether it is getting targets, catches, or  blocking — whatever I can do to help this team is what I want to be able to do.

“I always want to be the best of whatever they ask me to do. I took responsibility and the accountability, and I am going to go out there and do it. Don’t get me wrong, I am still a receiver and still want the rock. But more from an ego standpoint, you have to look at the bigger picture.”

Former Penn State stars have fifth year options picked up

A pair of former Penn State first round NFL Draft picks will play for the same team they started their careers with in 2025. The Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens each elected to exercise their fifth year option on defenders Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh, respectively. If either had declined to, then one of them could have hit free agency following the 2024 season. Parsons’ fifth-year option is valued at $21.3 million. Oweh’s is valued at $13.3 million.

Parsons is currently making headlines for off-field reasons. He and Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud are on a tour of Asia. The Penn State alum posted a video of a sumo wrestling workout. He also held a youth football camp in Beijing, China, with Stroud, visited the Great Wall, and threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Tokyo Dome, home of the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.

Smith still waiting for a new home

Former Penn State offensive tackle Donovan Smith is still waiting to find his next NFL home. After spending one season in Kansas City on a one-year deal in 2023, both sides elected to move on initially. And, it does not appear likely that a reunion will happen.

“If we need to go in a different direction before training camp, we will,” Chiefs GM Bill Veach told the Kansas City Star when asked about possibly bringing Smith back. “But I think now, we’re excited with where the roster is, and look forward to the final OTA (organized team activity) periods.

“For right now, I think we’re going to let these young guys go out there, and see what they can do and how much they can absorb.”

The Washington Commanders are one team that could make sense for Smith. But he waited a while to sign with Kansas City last year after five years in Tampa Bay. So, another wait, even until camps begin later this year, would not be a shock.