The Vikings signed former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Koren Robinson to a two-year contract today, the Star Tribune reports. Robinson was released largely because of behavioral issues connected to alcohol abuse. He received treatement this summer but has a upcoming court date for a drunk driving conviction on September 14.
So why would the team sign a troubled receiver rather than seek to bolster a demonstrated weakness on the team such as bringing in another linebacker or getting a veteran punter?
The signing of Koren Robinson tells me that Tice is either not satisified with Marcus Robinson (and, frankly, he didn’t have that great of a preseason, dropping several balls he should have caught) or that Troy Williamson‘s development is not nearly to the point where the team would like or both.
We don’t know the terms of the deal yet, but I imagine we got Robinson on the cheap, so it’s probably worth the risk because if the guy can clean up his act, we could possibly have pretty decent receiver on our hands. He’s a big reciever at 6′ 1", 205 lbs., and the Seahawks, after all, took him with the nineth overall pick in 2001. Before he was drafted, there was some question about his speed, but I’ve read that he is a deep threat and he posted damn good numbers in 2002 (78 catches for 1240 yards and 5 TDs) and 2003 (65 catches for 896 yards and 4 TDs) before dropping off last year.
The other news was that the team released punter Darren Bennett and picked up another Seahawk, punter Chris Kluwe. Big surprise there. This is the price the team paid for refusing to give Mitch Berger a million bucks a year. Was it worth it?