Why Trade of Jaguars' Tackle Has Massive Implications

What do we make of the Jacksonville Jaguars trading left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings?

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson (74) looks on during the third day of an NFL football training camp practice Friday, July 26, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

For the first time in eight years, the Jacksonville Jaguars won't have a familiar face waiting in the wings at left tackle.

The Jaguars traded long-time left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday, dealing the 2017 second-round pick and a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick for a conditional 2026 fifth-round selection that can become a fourth-rounder.

After almost 100 starts, the final piece of the 2017 AFC Championship team is gone. So, what do we make of the trade? We break it down below.

Jaguars and Robinson seemed to be in a stare down ahead of trade

Entering Week 9, things seemed to be somewhat awkward when it came to the Jaguars and Robinson. Simply put, Robinson looked disconnected and uninvolved from Sunday's game against the Packers.

He never looked like he was going to come close to playing in a game in which he didn't start after clearing concussion protocol over the weekend. Throughout the game, he kept a distance from the offense and the Jaguars never played him despite using a sixth lineman in certain formations and despite losing two different linemen during the game.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson didn't commit to Walker Little as the starting left tackle during Monday's press conference, but the Jaguars' usage of offensive linemen in Sunday's game said it all.

Considering how Sunday went, the Jaguars and Robinson simply seemed bound to go their separate ways -- especially with the odds of Robinson returning to the team next year already incredibly low entering the season.

Jaguars got meaningful value, but what does this mean for Trent Baalke?

With the chance of the Jaguars getting a future fourth-round pick, it is hard to dislike this kind of value for the Jaguars. Yes, it is also a good deal for the Vikings to get a rental tackle with almost 100 starts under his belt in a playoff-caliber season.

That doesn't mean it wasn't good business for the Jaguars to land a future Day 3 pick for a player whose tenure had clearly run its course with the franchise.

With that said, it is fair for some to assume that general manager Trent Baalke getting a 2026 pick means he is operating with some kind of job security.

This kind of move doesn't mean Baalke will be the one making the pick; it is just the kind of value he could get for a benched tackle on a contract year. Don't expect this deal to mean much for Baalke's job security, even if it might look like it on surface level.

This is Walker Little's final audition

Walker Little has never really been given an extended look at left tackle. Now, he will. Little started games in small sample sizes in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but the Jaguars always turned back to Robinson. Now, Little will be given the chance to be the guy at left tackle.

Nobody pushing him, nobody to take the job back. For the next nine games, it is his job.

With that said, this is also the final nine games of Little's rookie deal with the team. It is in these nine games that Little will be able to make one final push for the role of the Jaguars' long-time left tackle.

If he plays well, there seems to be a chance he could return in 2025. If he doesn't, then left tackle becomes a glaring need.

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