Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson has rough night in first preseason game
Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson brings down Patriots wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson during the first half of a NFL preseason game Thursday in Foxborough, Mass. Credit: AP/Michael Dwyer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Teams typically do not game plan a whole lot for preseason openers but it likely didn’t take the Patriots untold hours of film crunching to come up with a key concept for their offense:
Attack Aaron Robinson.
Robinson, a second-year player thrust into a first-line role, had a rough night because of it and did little to dispel the idea that he may be the weak link of the Giants’ defense ... even against the Patriots’ second-teamers.
The cornerback who has been elevated to a potential starting role this season was beaten for three passes for 44 yards and a touchdown in the first two series of the game on Thursday night.
He did make one play, batting away a pass intended for Kristian Wilkerson in the end zone ,but he followed that up by standing over the receiver with his arms extended to draw a taunting penalty that gave the Patriots a first down.
Robinson also was flagged for holding on the touchdown he allowed, grabbing Tyquan Thornton in the end zone before Thornton got free of him and caught the 2-yard pass from Brian Hoyer on the final play of the first quarter.
The Giants need Robinson to play well after releasing Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry in the offseason because of salary cap issues. Robinson was drafted with the idea of him being a nickel cornerback but has manned the starting outside corner vacated by Bradberry throughout the spring and summer. The Giants don’t have many other options behind him on the depth chart.
“He’s a good, young player to work with,” Brian Daboll said of Robinson at the start of training camp. “It’ll be a good camp for him to keep improving his skill set and compete with the other guys.”
If he keeps having performances like he did Thursday night, the Giants may have to look elsewhere to fill that spot.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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