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In one of the NFL's worst-kept secrets of the past three weeks, the agent for New York Jets starting free safety Damien Robinson confirmed that he has been apprised by team officials that his client will soon be released, probably sometime this week. League rules allow teams to begin releasing players on Thursday -- rosters are essentially frozen until then -- and dispatching Robinson and turning the job over to second-year veteran Jon McGraw appear to be priority items on the Jets offseason "to do" list. Jets sources confirmed Robinson is no longer in the team's plans and will be released in coming days. "It's just a part of the system," said agent James Gould. "It happens every year now. For whatever reason, and we're not sure why, the Jets have decided (Robinson) doesn't fit in there anymore." Robinson, 29, signed with the Jets as an unrestricted free agent in 2001, in a move that reunited him with head coach Herman Edwards, for whom he had played during his four-year stint with the Tampa Bay Bucs. He started in 29 games for the Jets over the last two seasons. But the six-year veteran played inconsistently and had just four interceptions in two seasons. While the Jets don't necessarily need the cap room they will create by releasing Robinson, they have soured on him and feel it will be in the best interest of both parties if he moves on, while they prepare McGraw to step into the starting lineup. Robinson was scheduled to have a base salary of $710,000 in 2003 and was due a $250,000 roster bonus on March 1. A second-round choice in the 2002 draft, McGraw showed some flashes of playmaking abilities as a rookie, and coaches feel he has superior range to that of the man he will replace. In the ever-evolving NFL, the emphasis at the safety position now is on range and coverage skills. Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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