Upon signing with the Detroit Lions in free agency last March, it became clear Amik Robertson would fit right into the team's culture.
Robertson played well, eventually taking over as the Lions' primary slot corner before moving outside after Carlton Davis was sidelined by a broken jaw. His performance shutting down Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in Week 18 was big in a big spot, helping the Lions earn the No. 1 seed.
It's fair to say the Lions' Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders took an early bad turn when Robertson suffered a broken arm on the second defensive play of the game. The secondary was simply out of viable answers to deal with Washington's passing offense, and it showed.
Amik Robertson delivers message to Lions' critics
After a one-and-done playoff exit as the top seed in the NFC, the Lions have been criticized from a lot of corners. Robertson recently talked to Shannon Person of TMZ Sports, with praise for departed defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as he takes on the New York Jets' head coaching job.
But Robertson made it clear he has seen the criticism that has come the Lions' way since the loss to Washington, which isn't unexpected given the presence he shows on Twitter, and he had a message for those critics.
“At the end of the day, man, all this is going to hit full circle", Robertson said. "Man, as mad and as much anger and fire as I got in me because I couldn’t finish out the game — and that I wasn’t injured — I’m not going to bring up injuries and say injuries were an excuse, It wasn’t the reason that we lost and couldn’t get over that hump, but we’ll be back. We’ll be back healthy, and just know we’re keeping all the receipts. So it is okay when you fail and you see people doubting you. That’s how I came up. That was my fuel to my fire—doubt. So we’ll be back. It is all good, but we’re definitely keeping the receipts.”
As expected Robertson didn't want to use injuries as an excuse, but the Lions were hit by them at an insane level on the defensive side of the ball this season and it simply became impossible to overcome all the absences in the playoff loss. Also as expected, Robertson had a pointed message for the Lions' doubters.
