Texans' Robinson 'back where he belongs'
Written by davemundy, Sunday September 06 2009
Houston Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson says it's good to be back where he belongs.
Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson says it’s good to be back where he belongs.
And his teammates are no doubt breathing a huge sigh of relief.
Robinson ended his holdout Sunday and signed a franchise tender offer in time to report to the team’s practice facility, ending a summer-long holdout.
"It feels great to be back," Robinson told houstontexans.com’s Nick Scurfield. "Walking in this locker room this morning, I saw all the smiling faces... there was just a lot of high-fiving a lot of hugging. It's good to be back where I belong."
"He'll go to his spot, you bet," head coach Kubiak said. " I don't think you're looking at a player that's going to go out there and play 60-70 plays (against the Jets). Whether or not he'll be there on gameday, we'll see. He will let us know by how he practices."
Robinson worked out individually Sunday with strength coach Ray Wright and head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan on a field separate from the rest of the team. During his holdout, he said he’d kept in shape by working out at a couple of athletic training facilities in
"I started that as soon as camp started, so I basically went through my own two-a-days down there," said Robinson, who balked at a long-term contract offer after being tagged as the team’s franchise player. "We went at it every day, so I feel like I'm prepared. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape."
His teammates were equally glad to see him, since it is the defense and particularly the secondary which remains the team’s biggest question mark headed into its pre-season opener against the Jets.
"Mostly hugs. High fives,” Robinson reported his teammates’ reaction. “My relationship with my teammates has always been a great relationship. I missed these guys and they've missed me.
“So as soon as I walked in, the first guy I saw was Chris Brown, the running back. He gave me a big hug like, ‘Man, I missed you.'"
Robinson said there is no lingering animosity with management and the team’s front office over the holdout.
“I think what people don't understand is that it was never that serious to the point where I was going to come to blows with somebody,” he said. “We agreed to disagree. Now I'm back and the tender is signed, and now it's time to play football. Everything else is out the window.”
Robinson is a Pro Bowler whose contract came up for renewal this season. He suffered a serious knee injury in November, 2007 and didn’t return until Week 7 of the 2008 season, but finished the year with two interceptions and 38 tackles. The Texans went 5-1 with Robinson in the starting lineup down the stretch.
While team officials never mentioned it, that knee injury was obviously a point of concern when negotiations began on a new contract.
“Heck, I've wanted him here since March so that hasn't changed,” Kubiak said. “I understand the business and I understand what he went through and I understand the franchise—I understand all of that.
“It's time to go play football. We've got a big game here in seven days and none of those things are an issue right now. Football is the issue."
The Texans' career leader with 13 interceptions, Robinson has started 63 of 68 games since being drafted in the first round in 2004 out of
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