Will newcomer Cam Robinson start for Vikings at LT on Sunday night?

If all goes well, the assumption is that Robinson will make his Minnesota debut this week.

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson (74) reacts to a catch being confirmed in favor of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second quarter of a preseason matchup Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine / USA TODAY NETWORK

At the time of his Wednesday afternoon press conference at TCO Performance Center, Kevin O'Connell still hadn't met Cam Robinson, the Vikings' new left tackle, in person yet. That was expected to happen shortly after the presser's conclusion, once Robinson had completed a physical and the other processes needed to finalize his addition to the roster.

"He should be arriving any minute now," O'Connell said. "And then he'll be immediately inserted into meetings."

The Vikings acquired Robinson from the Jaguars in a deal on Tuesday, getting him and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026 for a conditional fifth-rounder in 2026 that can become a fourth. They had a need for a starting-caliber left tackle after losing Christian Darrisaw to a season-ending knee injury in Thursday's loss to the Rams. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah filled that need with one of the most logical options available.

It's a trade that works out nicely for all parties. The 5-2 Vikings get an experienced starter and quality pass protector who should help keep their offense afloat moving forward. The 2-6 Jaguars get a draft pick for a player on an expiring contract and a chance to evaluate a younger option at LT. And Robinson gets to go from a floundering team to a contender overnight.

The big question now is whether or not he'll be ready to go on Sunday night against the Colts, a team he played ten full games against in his eight-year tenure with the Jaguars, including a Week 5 matchup earlier this season. Unsurprisingly, O'Connell wasn't ready to confidently state that Robinson will be in the lineup four days from now, but that does feel like a reasonable assumption if all goes well this week.

"Hope to have him practice fully tomorrow and then on into the weekend," O'Connell said. "We'll see where he's at, if he's able to go for us this weekend, that'll be great. ... If he's ready to go and prepared, I'd like to get him in the mix there. If, for whatever reason, it's gotta be either situational or something where we maybe hold him out and give him a full week of prep next week, we'll kinda play it as it goes here this week."

Even if Robinson isn't ready to go on Wednesday, that still leaves Thursday and Friday for him to get in two full practices with his new teammates and coaches. Over the last couple trade deadlines, the Vikings have added T.J. Hockenson and Josh Dobbs and — whether as planned or not — gotten them ready to play that same week. And compared to tight end or especially quarterback, left tackle is a relatively simple position to learn from offense to offense.

"I think first and foremost, we'll need to find similarities (to the Jacksonville scheme)," O'Connell said. "Maybe just learning the words. We've got great communicators up there on the offensive line, from Garrett (Bradbury) on out that can help him. Really, when you get into it, in certain phases of your offense, first and second down, there might be some nuances to the run game or play-action protections here and there, but the tackle spot is one where, on those weighty downs in dropback pass, you're blocking a defensive end. Whether we say 'peaches' or whatever it is, it really doesn't matter.

"(He's) a veteran player, played over 90 starts in his career, a guy who's played a lot of football and I think was playing really well at the time of acquiring him. And I know he's healthy and will be ready to roll. Haven't gotten a chance to physically see him yet, but he'll be here momentarily and we'll roll from there. Not something, at other positions, we haven't accomplished before. Expect him to get ready to go, we'll see where he's at this weekend."

In other words: Barring something unexpected, Robinson should be out there anchoring the left side of the Vikings' offensive line on Sunday night. That's what they brought him here to do.