New Buc A'Shawn Robinson says he's been disrespected his entire career. "Anytime I step on the field, it’s to show that disrespect is not real."
The Bucs may not have stuffed their defense during free agency with players who had the best ability, but that was never going to be enough anyway. They also wanted irritability.
No one embodies that trait more than defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson, who developed his sharp edges growing up without much in Texas.
“It comes from a little kid they used to try to pick on for not having anything, for being so poor,” Robinson said Friday after signing a one-year, $10 million contract with Tampa Bay. “You know what I did every day? Whoop somebody’s ass. Every day. ...
“I play the same way on the field. So now, people talk and try to do dirty stuff, and I just got tired of it. I started letting them have it. Let them know I’m going to beat y’all, what I’m going to do, how I’m going to do it. I just destroy. That’s all it was as a kid.”
Think about the best Bucs defenses in the past. It starts with talent, to be sure. Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber played their way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But each possessed not just toughness but tenacity. Sure, Robinson (30), linebacker Alex Anzalone (31) and outside linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad (30) may not all be in their prime, but they share a valuable trait:
Each brings a level of nastiness to the huddle that’s been lacking on Todd Bowles’ defense.
Buvs wide receiver Sterling Shepard is taken down by Panthers defensive end A'Shawn Robinson during a December 2024 game. [ JASON WALLE | ZUMA Press Wire (2024) ]
Furthermore, those traits are transferable, according to Robinson.
“Oh yeah. You’ve got to embody it,” said Robinson, an imposing presence at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds. ”Your brothers see you out there doing what you’re doing, they’re going to want to do the same thing. You show them you’ve got their back, they’re going to have the same attitude. ...
“If we want to be the defense we want to be, we’ve got to show everybody how we are every single day, every play, every minute, every second. Talk and be about it. You’ve got to walk the walk as well.”
An All-American at Alabama, Robinson believed he should’ve been drafted higher than 46th overall by the Lions in 2016.
“Me starting from where I got drafted where I was drafted, I always wear that chip on my shoulder,’’ Robinson said. “That disrespect has always been with me my whole career. Anytime I step on the field, it’s to show that disrespect is not real.
“People say you like my game now, I don’t really care. That chip is always going to forever be there until I retire. That disrespect is who I am and why I live to play the way I am.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, left, tries to hold on to the ball as Lions defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad takes him to the turf. [ PAUL SANCYA | AP (2025) ]
Similarly, Muhammad felt overlooked coming out of Miami when he lasted until the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft, taken No. 196 overall by the Saints. A late bloomer, he bounced around with the Colts and Bears before setting a career-high 11 sacks last season in Detroit despite not making a start.
It didn’t hurt that he played opposite of defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, a finalist for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award with 14.5 sacks.
“They play the same way I play: Nasty,” Robinson said of Anzalone and Muhammad. “Physical, and they’re about action. That’s what I like to see. They know the game; they understand the game of football and having teammates that understand football is a great mind to have together.”
The Panthers gave Robinson permission to seek a trade and two teams showed interest: the Bucs and the 49ers. Eventually, the Panthers released him and he chose Tampa Bay.
“I wasn’t shocked,” Robinson said. “I’m already over it.”
And now he is looking forward to playing alongside Vita Vea and the rest of the defense.
“I’ll say this, bring my dawg out and let him eat,” Robinson said. “So when he’s eating, you know what that does? They’re going to try to attack him, and you know what that does? That frees me up and I’m going to eat. So we’re just feasting off each other. Having those guys around us, not just Vita Vea who feasts as well.
“We all know that in this game on the D-line especially, you’ve got to do your job together. You’ve got to dominate your box, you’ve got to dominate your one-on-one that you have so it frees up everybody else to win so you can have the defense you want to have.”
Bucs sign TE Ko Kieft, G Dan Feeney
General manager Jason Licht broke the news on X that the Bucs signed tight end Ko Kieft to a one-year contract. He did it from a boat in Tampa Bay with assistant GM Mike Greenberg and his front office staff. The team also reached an agreement on a one-year deal with guard Dan Feeney.
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.