New Vikings left tackle Cam Robinson makes ‘easy transition’ for offensive line in flux

There were moments last week when Vikings left guard Blake Brandel thought he was going to have to step over and replace Christian Darrisaw at left tackle.

“There was definitely discussion there and it was a possibility,” Brandel said after the Vikings’ 21-13 win over the Colts on Sunday night. “We were going through all the possibilities and on Tuesday we get Cam [Robinson] and it’s like, ‘Well, we’ll see if he can pick up the offense.’ And he did. Now we’re rolling. It’s a crazy turnaround.”

Robinson started for the Vikings at left tackle just five days after being traded by the Jacksonville Jaguars and only three days after his first practice with his new team. Getting Robinson ready required a group effort by coaches and players who left encouraged by their new left tackle’s debut, even if the offensive live has areas to improve after quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked four times by the Colts.

“It was an experience,” said Robinson, who started his 95th NFL game on Sunday night but his first not in a Jaguars uniform. “Definitely new, something I’ve never experienced before, but all the credit in the world to the people in the building: my teammates, my coaches, they made it an easy transition for me. ... A lot of studying. ... Just trying to pick up a lot in a short amount of time.”

Right tackle Brian O’Neill, a team captain, said the coaching staff simplified the offensive line’s communication plan as much as possible to accommodate Robinson on short notice. He also said Brandel, who lines up to Robinson’s right, directed him through play calls when needed before the snap.

“So much credit to [Robinson], the work he put in over the last 72 hours,” O’Neill said. “Obviously, he’s a veteran football player who’s played a lot of games. I thought our two O-line coaches, [Chris Kuper] and Shaun Sarrett, did a great job staying with him after meetings, after practice, late into the night the past couple days kind of teaching him on the fly. Then I don’t think it can be stated enough how much Blake Brandel was able to help him out over there.”

Tackle isn’t the most complex position, O’Neill said, but that doesn’t mean it easy to transition so quickly.

“There’s the hundreds of little made-up calls we have on the line at the line of scrimmage that aren’t necessarily in a playbook,” O’Neill said. “Stuff we say to each other and we know what’s going on and that we’ve been doing together for a couple years now. He was able to pick it up.”

Brandel said he had a lot of communication with Robinson during the game, but credited his new teammate for clearly studying on his own.

“Doing that on two days of practices and a walkthrough is impressive,” Brandel said.

Darnold was protected fairly well outside of some quick breakdowns, like when Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart breezed past center Garrett Bradbury for the strip sack that ended in a Colts touchdown. Coaches designed assistance for Robinson on longer developing plays, including the 41-yard toss to receiver Justin Jefferson.

But Darnold took four sacks. He didn’t do himself any favors at times, holding onto the ball for over four seconds when Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye looped around Brandel for a third-quarter sack.

“There’s always going to be stuff you can improve on,” Brandel said. “I think I lunged a little bit, but I think he caught the back of my helmet and I tried to do the basketball box out.”

O’Neill was asked if four sacks allowed accurately reflect their matchup against the Colts, or if he felt the Vikings blockers fared better than the box score indicated.

“I’ll never like that number,” O’Neill said. “But I gotta watch it. They were a good front. Two really good guys on the inside and I was impressed with the rookie, [edge rusher Laiatu] Latu, I think he’s going to be a really good player in this league for a while. Props to them.”

A win is the stat that matters most. And Robinson experienced just one year with at least 10 wins during seven full seasons with the Jaguars.

“When you’re playing good football, obviously it’s exciting,” Robinson said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

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