Patriots waive-injured former fourth-round pick Layden Robinson

The New England Patriots have released second-year guard Layden Robinson with a waived-injured designation, the team announced Sunday. The move comes two days before the NFL’s cut down deadline Tuesday afternoon to get below the 53-player roster limit.

Robinson was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth-round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M and appeared in 13 games with 11 starts at both guard spots as a rookie. The 24-year-old Robinson made six starts at right guard and five starts at left guard last season.

Robinson might not be the last of the Patriots’ 2024 draft class to get the pink slip, with second-year starting quarterback Drake Maye the only certainty among last year’s class to make New England’s 2025 opening-day roster, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Robinson has been working almost exclusively with the Patriots’ third-team offense throughout much of preseason camp, per Reiss, meaning he was already a longshot to make the 53-man roster.

The 6-foot-3, 311-pound Robinson was in the second year of a non-guaranteed four-year, $4.9 million contract he signed as the No. 103 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That included a $874,285 signing bonus, per Spotrac.

Before entering the NFL, Robinson capped his collegiate career as a two-time second-team All-SEC offensive lineman in 2021 and 2023, having made 33 career starts at Texas A&M.

As a member of the Class of 2019, Robinson was a three-star recruit out of Manvel (Texas) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 56 overall prospect in the state, the No. 32 interior offensive lineman in the class and the No. 490 overall prospect in the class.

What draft analysts said about Layden Robinson

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein evaluated the tape and provided his take on Robinson’s pro prospects. He went into the draft as a projected fourth or fifth round pick.

“Guard prospect in desperate need of improved pass protection consistency in order to unleash his potential,” Zierlein wrote. “Robinson’s mass played a pivotal role in helping to escort defenders out of the lane for Aggie running backs. Hand placement and getting into his blocks with proper footwork should come with additional coaching. However, his performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine have worked against his draft stock.

“Robinson pass protects with excessive leaning, inconsistent mirroring and trouble processing twists and blitzes. Teams will need to decide if his protection issues are correctable and decide how to prioritize his power at the point of attack when considering him on Day 3 of the draft.”

— On3’s Barkley Truax and Nick Kosko contributed to this report.