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Adrien Robinson is hoping for his breakout season under Ben McAdoo.

(William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

NEW YORK – Adrien Robinson will begin training in March, and was fully cleared by doctors following a knee sprain that he suffered against the Lions -- his only active snap of the 2013 season.

The 2012 fourth-round pick, dubbed by the team as the Jason Pierre-Paul of tight ends due to his combination of raw size and speed, knows that he has yet to live up to that lofty bar. But with the hiring of Ben McAdoo, a former tight ends coach from Green Bay, as offensive coordinator, Robinson is hopeful.

He is currently one of just two tight ends on the active roster alongside Larry Donnell. Brandon Myers' contract voided on Friday and Bear Pascoe is a free agent (the team plans to meet with Pascoe's representatives at the combine next week).

"Definitely, I watched to see what type of offense it would be," Robinson said here at Biondi School in Yonkers where he spoke to a few dozen students. "They throw the ball to the tight end a lot. So for me, individually, that's good."

Packers tight ends combined for 133 receptions in the past two seasons. In 2012, the year before suffering a serious neck injury, Jermichael Finley grabbed 61 passes for 667 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

When asked if this could be his breakout year, Robinson smiled.

"I hope so," he said.

And then he added: "Definitely."

After another short pause: "It has to be this year."

Robinson is right. After struggling with foot and knee injuries last year, 2014 training camp might be his last to make an impression. Scouts still drool over his potential, but Robinson knows he needs to have a solid preseason.

He will have that chance in a new system with a new tight ends coach, Kevin Gilbride. He will look to adjust in his first season without Michael Pope, the team's longtime tight ends coach who was let go a few weeks ago.

"He's a great guy, he knows pretty much everything there is to know," Robinson said of Pope. "You hate to see so much wisdom go, but that's just how it is."