Jaguars OL Cam Robinson returns to practice, could enter starting lineup soon

Cam Robinson is nearing his return to play after the Jacksonville Jaguars' left tackle was reinstated earlier this week after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's Performance Enhancing Drugs policy.

Robinson is now on the league's exempt/commissioner permission list for one week. He does not have to be moved to the team's active roster in order to practice but can be moved to the team's active roster at any point this week in order to play. The Jaguars have kept 52 players on the team's active 53-man roster in anticipation of his return.

Robinson could play as early as this week against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Stadium in London, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson has said. Robinson has been in the building, attending meetings over the last two weeks and traveled with the team to London after being granted special permission from the commissioner.

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"He's in a really good frame of mind," Pederson said Wednesday. "He's prepared himself for this moment. He knew all along what he was doing and what he needed to do to get ready. As a staff, I think it's just [about] going out there and [seeing] just how he executes this week in practice and how he gels with Walker [Little] or possibly [Tyler] Shatley at left guard and all those different combinations that could happen."

Robinson has been the team's starting left tackle since being drafted by the team in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has played and started in 75 games since being drafted.

Pederson mentioned Wednesday that Robinson brings a leadership and physicality element to the team's offensive line and could also help with the "stability" of the unit as a whole.

Since the league served Robinson his suspension, the Jaguars moved former second-round pick, offensive lineman Walker Little to the starting position at left tackle.

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Little has started all four games thus far this season at left tackle and has graded out as the team's best offensive lineman and second-best offensive player overall, according to Pro Football Focus. Still, Robinson's return could give the Jaguars an opportunity to put their five best offensive linemen on the field.

Jaguars offensive line will look different upon Cam Robinson's return

When Robinson is officially activated by the team, he is almost certain to be inserted into the starting lineup. Pederson has not made it official but did say Wednesday that Robinson would likely play tackle next to either Little or Shatley at left guard, but they haven't made a determination on the final lineup.

Last week, the Jaguars inserted backup OL Tyler Shatley into the starting lineup over Ben Bartch, who started the team's first three games at left guard after returning from a devastating knee injury less than a year ago.

Moving forward, Pederson said, Shatley is continuing to work as the team's backup center with Luke Fortner as the starter.

"We have no issues with Luke [Fortner] at all and he's done an outstanding job," Pederson said when posed with the question Wednesday about a potential change at the center position. "Shatley is a backup center for us. If something were to happen to Luke, obviously Tyler would be the one to go in but there's been no conversation at all about that."

Little's potential move to guard has been in the works for quite some time, with Pederson first mentioning the possibility this offseason as the team worked through Robinson's suspension. Little played at left guard and tackle throughout the preseason.

Jacksonville's potential starting offensive line could look like this from left to right: Robinson, Little, Fortner, Brandon Scherff and Anton Harrison.

Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X,  formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars OL Cam Robinson returns to practice, might start vs. Bills