NFL to follow up with Falcons over failure to report Bijan Robinson's condition
To the surprise of many, Atlanta Falcons (4-3) rookie running back Bijan Robinson had a limited role in the 16-13 Week 7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) Sunday.
With fantasy football managers and bettors in the midst of a meltdown, head coach Arthur Smith revealed to the FOX broadcast that Robinson was ill and “just not feeling all that great.” Why exactly the Falcons didn’t disclose such information ahead of the game is unknown.
The NFL, however, intends to find out. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the league will “follow up with the club” to determine why Robinson’s illness wasn’t made public. Based on how the events played out, the Buccaneers were kept in the dark on Robinson’s availability, as were fantasy football managers and bettors.
With Robinson ailing, the 2023 first-round pick received just one carry for three yards. The former Texas standout saw just 11 snaps in total. After the game, Falcons team reporter Terrin Waack spoke with Robinson about his limited role in Atlanta’s offense. The 21-year-old revealed that a serious headache is what hindered him from taking the field as much as he’d like on Sunday.
“It [started] last night, I was feeling weird,” Robinson said. “I woke up, just completely out of it. I tried to take medicine so I could be good for the game. But my head was hurting. Bad. I don’t know what was going on. I tried to go in pregame, but then coach [Arthur] Smith said, ‘We’ll be all right. Let’s get you right.’”
Falcons survive Buccaneers without Bijan Robinson
Robinson also spoke about potentially playing through the pain of his headache and balancing that with the goals and priorities of the team.
“I don’t care what I’m going through, I’m going to push through,” Robinson said. “But at the same time, I know it’s a long season. I know that Coach Smith has the best interest at heart for me. Knowing when he has a plan and we have a plan, I’m going to go with it and not bother with it. I’ll be good next week.”
Robinson has had an impressive start to his rookie campaign with the Falcons, entering the game as the league’s 10th-leading rusher with 401 yards on the season. He also led all running backs in the NFL with 26 receptions through six games, adding 189 receiving yards and two touchdowns to his receiving stat line.
The Falcons rushing attack was still strong without Robinson, as Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson were able to shoulder the load with Robinson supporting them from the sidelines. The duo combined for 115 yards on 31 carries in the win over Tampa Bay.