Will newcomer Cam Robinson start for the Vikings at LT on Sunday night?

At the time of his press conference Wednesday afternoon at the TCO Performance Center, Kevin O'Connell had not yet met Cam Robinson, the Vikings' new left tackle, in person. It was expected that this would happen shortly after the presser was completed, once Robinson had completed a physical examination and the other necessary processes to finalize his inclusion in the squad.

“He should be arriving any minute,” O'Connell said. “And then he is immediately involved in meetings.”

The Vikings acquired Robinson from the Jaguars in a deal on Tuesday, receiving him and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026 for a conditional fifth-rounder in 2026 who can become a fourth-rounder. After Christian Darrisaw was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury in Thursday's loss to the Rams, they needed a top-notch left tackle. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah filled this need with one of the most logical options available.

It's a trade that works well for all sides. The 5-2 Vikings are getting an experienced starter and good pass protector to help move their offense forward. The 2-6 Jaguars get a draft pick for a player on an expiring contract and the chance to explore a younger option at LT. And Robinson can go from a struggling team to a contender overnight.

The big question now is whether he will be ready to face the Colts on Sunday night, a team he has played 10 complete games against in his eight-year tenure with the Jaguars, including a Week 5 matchup earlier this season. Unsurprisingly, O'Connell wasn't ready to confidently say Robinson will be in the lineup in four days, but that seems like a reasonable assumption if everything goes well this week.

“I hope he can train fully tomorrow and then into the weekend,” O'Connell said. “We’ll see where he stands. If he can start for us this weekend that would be great. For some reason it has to be either situational or something where we might stop him and give him a full week of prep next week. We'll play it this week the way it goes here.

Even if Robinson isn't ready to start on Wednesday, he still has two full training sessions left on Thursday and Friday with his new teammates and coaches. Over the last few trade deadlines, the Vikings have added TJ Hockenson and Josh Dobbs and, whether as planned or not, made them ready to play in the same week. And compared to tight end or especially quarterback, left tackle is a relatively easy position to learn from tackle to tackle.

“I think first and foremost we need to find similarities (to the Jacksonville scheme),” O'Connell said. “Maybe I’ll just learn the words. We have great communicators up there on the offensive line, from Garrett (Bradbury) on down, who can help him. Really, if you get into it, in certain phases of your offense, in the first and second phases. “Down, maybe there are a few nuances here and there in the running game or in play-action protection, but the tackle spot is one , where you block a defensive end on those tough downs in the dropback pass. or whatever it is, it really doesn't matter.

“(He is) an experienced player who has started over 90 times in his career, a guy who has played a lot of football and in my opinion was playing really well at the time he took over. And I know he's healthy and will be ready to go. “We haven't had a chance to see him in person yet, but he'll be here for a moment and we'll go from there. We have not yet achieved this in other positions. We expect him to hit the ground running. Let's see where he stands this weekend.

In other words, unless something unexpected happens, Robinson should be out there anchoring the left side of the Vikings' offensive line on Sunday night. That's what they brought him here for.