“Somebody pay that man.”
Wan’Dale Robinson picked the perfect time to have a career year. His fantastic 2025 season will earn him a bid payday in NFL free agency. Somebody definitely will pay Robinson this offseason. Will it be the New York Giants?
Let’s examine whether the Giants should, or should not, pay that man.
Reasons to keep Robinson
For the first three seasons of his NFL career, there was always a feeling that the Giants had not maximized the talents of the 5-foot-8, 185-pound Robinson. That changed in 2025.
Robinson posted his first 1,000-yard receiving season. His 1,014 yards in 16 games made him the first 5-foot-8 or smaller receiver to surpass 1,000 yards since 1990.
Robinson had 92 receptions, one off his 2024 career-best. He averaged a career-high 11.0 yards per catch, and his 63.4 yards receiving per game were 22 yards more than his previous career best. Robinson showed for the first time in his career that he could be a downfield threat, with a career-best Average Depth of Target (aDOT) of 8.5.
It is legitimate to ask if Robinson can produce those kind of numbers again. After all, as we have already mentioned no receiver his size had reached the 1,000-yard mark since 1990. Robinson also put up those numbers in a season where the Giants played most of the year without Malik Nabers, so there were more targets to go around.
Still, it is clear that Robinson and quarterback Jaxson Dart have a connection. The Giants need more playmakers, and they need to break the habit they have developed in recent years of letting talented players go and watching them succeed elsewhere.
Reasons to let Robinson go
Robinson is going to be EXPENSIVE. Pro Football Focus estimates a three-year, $63 million contract with $40 million guaranteed for Robinson. Spotrac has Robinson’s market value at $70.5 million over four years, roughly $17.5 million per year.
Should a 5-8 receiver with one outstanding season earn that kind of money? Robinson just turned 25, so he should have several good years in front of him. Still, history clearly tell us expecting him to match the kind of numbers he put up in 2025 seems foolish.
Khalil Shakir, whose best year with the Buffalo Bills was 76 receptions for 821 yards, got a four-year, $53 million contract from the Bills. That is a deal I am sure Robinson will expect to best.
There is an argument to be made that chances are good spending $17-20 million on Robinson over the next three to four years has a good chance to turn into a poor investment.
Verdict
Keep him.
We learned, finally, in 2025 that Robinson can do a whole lot more than catch a stick route and fall down. Even if he never hits the 1,000-yard mark again, he is a good player who brings playmaking and toughness to the offense and is a quality presence in the locker room.
This one might be a challenge for Dawn Aponte, the Giants new Senior VP of Football Operations, who is expected to specialize in the salary cap and contract negotiations.
Maybe, just maybe, a Robinson contract is a situation where Aponte gets GM Joe Schoen to agree to add void years to a contract, which he has never done.
