Brian Robinson Jr., the Washington Commanders running back shot twice in the lower extremities during an attempted armed robbery on Sunday, was released from the hospital Monday and was named to the team’s initial 53-man roster for the regular season on Tuesday.
“What having him on the 53 does for us is it gives us a little bit of time,” stated Coach Ron Rivera. “He’s going to be reexamined by the doctors, and … what we’re looking for is a time frame.”
The roster decision gives the Commanders some leeway. Robinson was shot in the knee and gluteal region. According to a source familiar with the matter, the bullet that passed through his knee did not cause any bone or ligament damage, perhaps saving him from a lengthy recuperation.
If Robinson remains on the roster, he will count against the team’s 53-player limit, but he will be allowed to return whenever he is healthy and cleared by the medical staff. If doctors find that he will require more time in the coming days, the team can still place him on the non-football injury list or injured reserve and bring him back as early as Week 5.
“The biggest thing, more than anything else, is the reports about [the bullets] not hitting anything and doing any structural damage are, for the most part, true, to a degree,” Rivera said in a statement. “Now it’s a matter of how he works through his rehab program.”
On Tuesday afternoon, he returned to the team facility wearing a wrap around his right leg and using crutches. Robinson, who was greeted by Rivera and running backs coach Randy Jordan in the lobby, came with a gift — a pack of Oreos — to fulfill his rookie duties of bring snacks to his fellow running backs.
After the shooting Sunday, he was taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He announced on Instagram the next day that surgery “went well.”
Two gunmen approached Robinson after he left a storefront in the 1000 block of H Street NE shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday. Robinson was able to “wrestle a firearm away” from one of the assailants before the other shot him twice, D.C. police said. A firearm was discovered about a block away from the scene, and no property was stolen from Robinson.
D.C. police released images captured by a nearby surveillance camera of the two suspects and the car in which they fled. Detectives have asked the public’s assistance in identifying and locating them.
Rivera learned of the shooting Sunday evening and admitted it was one of the harder phone calls he has received as a head coach. He traveled with Jordan to the hospital, where they joined a contingent of Commanders officials — including owners Daniel and Tanya Snyder, team president Jason Wright and General Manager Martin Mayhew — joined them.
Rivera came away from the visit optimistic about Robinson’s health, saying that Robinson is “very fortunate” and that the news from his doctors was “very positive.”
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