Falcons’ Bijan Robinson: ‘I’m tired, in the offseason, of telling people like, man, we’re almost there’

Kirk Cousins is considered the team’s backup quarterback but wants to get to a situation where he can be a starter.

“Then obviously with Kirk, I’m not sure what’s happening there,” Robinson said. “I know there’s so many reports and stuff, but I go by what happens in the moment. If he’s with us, then he’s with us. I’m happy for him, but if not, like I’ll be happy for him (if he’s traded) as well, too.”

Robinson, who was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, had a stellar second season. He rushed 304 times for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns. He caught 61 passes for 431 yards and a touchdown. He originally was a Pro Bowl alternate but replaced Saquon Barkley after the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl.

Robinson wants the Falcons, who finished 8-9 last season, to return to respectability and reach the playoffs.

“It’s a good feeling to know where we’re headed,” Robinson said. “For me, like, I’m tired in the offseason of telling people like, man, we’re almost there. We almost have it. I think for us, like, we’re starting to get past that point. We know that we’re tired of answering questions like that.”

The Falcons were in first place at 6-3 but collapsed down the stretch after Cousins was injured against the Saints on Nov. 10 and the defense started to regress.

“It’s going on my third year, and we were close to the playoffs for two years,” Robinson said. “I don’t want to be close anymore. Like, I want it to be a no-brainer.”

Robinson believes that the work starts now with the offseason program, which will be followed by the organized team activities and then mandatory minicamp.

“So, I want us to come together,” Robinson said. “There’s going to be new leaders in the (locker) room. There are some new leaders in the room because some leaders left. But I think it’s important that we all just have a common goal in mind.”

Robinson is hoping the Falcons get 100% participation in the voluntary offseason program.

“I can only say so much, do so much, but I’m going to try to make sure the whole team’s there,” Robinson said. “Because, I think it’s important. I know some guys like to work out somewhere else, but I think for this offseason, it’s good for all of us to be in the building, just getting work. Even if we’re trying to recover from something, you can still be in there learning.”

After taking some time to rest after the season, Robinson focused on his nutrition. He’s eased back into working out.

“The thing that I love is I stayed here to work out because I love Griff — our head strength coach, John Griffin,” Robinson said. “Just all the things that he does and how he knows the body and how smart he is. Staying here with all them was really key for me. It’ll probably be like that this summer, too. I’ll probably stay here, anchor. Probably go back to L.A. to train a little bit with some other running backs. But, yeah, man, it’s been good.”

Falcons coach Raheem Morris was impressed with Robinson’s second season.

“He showed me that he’s a man, and he wants all the smoke,” Morris said recently at the league meetings. “He goes out there, and he takes it every single (snap), whether it’s practice, whether it’s games, whatever the case may be. He accepts all the challenges.”

Robinson is set to share some of the running back duties with Tyler Allgeier, who rushed 137 times for 644 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 88 yards.

“I always want to get emotional when you start talking about Bijan because of how great of a kid he is and how great of a human,” Morris said. “He’s just a great human that just happens to be one of the best players in the world.”

Robinson believes the Falcons need to take a different approach to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season.

“The thing that can get us caught up, you know, we looked ahead too many times,” Robinson said. “We were always talking about winning the NFC South, (reaching) the playoffs and win this.

“Nah, man, we’ve got to take it one day (at a time). You know, continuing to get better each and every single day. Then that’ll be the goal to get where we want to go.”