Two years ago, Amik Robertson decided to "follow my heart -- and my heart led me here," he said Monday as the Lions cleaned out their lockers in Allen Park. Now he's hoping to stay.
As he prepares for another round of free agency, Robertson made sure the Lions and GM Brad Holmes know exactly how he feels about running it back.
"I think I’ve just adapted and molded. I fit great here. I was able to grow here. Had to step outside of my comfort zone a lot to become a player that I didn’t think that I could be," Robertson said. "I had talks with — just know the door’s not closed. I want to be back, I very much do, man, because I’ve never been around an organization from top-down where you look forward to coming to work every day. Some people call it a job, man, but it don’t feel like it. Here it just feels like a dream."
Robertson had an up-and-down season in year two with the Lions, thrust into a bigger role on the outside than anticipated in the wake of injuries to starting cornerbacks DJ Reed and Terrion Arnold. He stood his ground against some marquee receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, but also had a habit of getting hit for big plays -- a major problem for Detroit's defense as a whole.
In 17 games, Robertson played the most coverage snaps, by far, in the Lions' secondary and the third most man coverage snaps among NFL corners, per PFF. He wound up allowing a passer rating in coverage of 110.4 and six touchdowns, a pretty steep fall from a rating of 89.6 and two touchdowns in the same number of games last season when he played significantly more snaps in the slot.
Robertson is a good player in the right role. The Lions are better for his feistiness, his nose for the football -- he forced five fumbles the last two seasons -- and his availability. At a position where injuries are frequent, especially the last two years in Detroit, Robertson hasn't missed a game in four seasons.
Bringing him back on a modest deal to man the slot in Kelvin Sheppard's defense, which might play more nickel next season with a few tweaks to the roster, would make some sense. It's just a matter of what that deal looks like. Robertson's projected market value, per Spotrac, is $4 million per year.
"It’s a scheme that I know, was with (Aaron Glenn), of course, kind of tweaked it a little, but it’s basically the same thing and now I know both corner and nickel, learned from the mistakes, know what I can’t bite on, so it’s something that would become like riding a bike, it becomes easier. I talked to Brad, he told me how they felt about me, how I fit this scheme, so we’ll see."
Coming off a 9-8 season where they fell well short of expectations, the Lions have several decisions to make on defense. Robertson is one of six starters headed for free agency, along with linebacker and co-captain Alex Anzalone, defensive ends Marcus Davenport and Al-Quadin Muhammad, the latter of whom ranked 11th in the NFL in sacks, and defensive linemen DJ Reader and Roy Lopez.
Detroit might also have a need at safety with both Kerby Joseph (knee) and Brian Branch (Achilles) nursing injuries that could impact next season. The backend of the defense suffered several losses by the end of this season, much like the front end last season. It's one of the reasons that Robertson wants so badly to return, to see the unit reach its potential at full health.
"This defense hasn’t played together as a whole yet," Robertson said. "The expectations are still high for one another and I know next year, man, I feel sorry for whoever goes against this team, because they’re going to come with urgency, fire, they’re going to get their swagger back. ... I came here with a chip on my shoulder, these guys already had that. I came here and I had to be accepted. I had to earn respect from these guys, because they were already great. They were already built to win. I was just a piece that came in and helped. This whole team was Batman, I was little old Robin, man. I expect this team to definitely come back even stronger next year."
Robertson said his affinity for the Lions "started with the way Brad and Dan put the team together and the way Dan coaches. He coaches savages, that savage mentality, grit, of course, we all know, versatility and urgency, man."
"And he likes guys that love football," Robertson said. "You can’t hide it, we know the guys that love football and that’s the way this team is built. That’s how I was able to adapt so easily, because I love the game of football. We got a hell of a leader in Dan, and then the way this team is put together, you have no choice but to have that contagious energy in wanting to come to work every day."
Robertson, 27, hopes it's back to work next season.
"I want to be here, man," he said. "The door’s not closed. I put all that in God’s hands and let the cards fall where they fall, but I just hope it’s here."