Barret Robbins, the former Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders center, has died at the age of 52, the team announced Friday. The cause of Robbins’ death has not been revealed.

Announcement and tributes

Former Raiders teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown was among the first to share the news on X. In an emotional post, Brown wrote that he had received a call from Marissa Robbins informing him that Robbins “passed away overnight.”

Brown added: “Thankfully, he passed peacefully in his sleep. Please pray for their girls, his family and tons of teammates who will be affected by this! It’s unfortunate that his life was never the same after he was not allowed to play in the Super Bowl! Rest Peacefully, BR, you deserve it!”

The Raiders released a statement saying: “The Raiders Family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barret Robbins. … The thought and condolences of the entire Raider Nation are with Barret’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

Career highlights and later struggles

Robbins began his NFL career with the Raiders in 1995 and played 121 games with 105 starts. A TCU product, he earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2002.

He is widely remembered for disappearing from the Raiders nearly 24 hours before Super Bowl XXXVII; then-coach Bill Callahan said Robbins was incoherent when he returned and was unable to play. Oakland replaced Robbins for the game and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21.

Robbins’ career and life were marked by a series of legal and personal difficulties reported over the years. The Raiders released him in 2004 for use of performance-enhancing drugs. In 2005 he was involved in an altercation with police and was shot three times; he pleaded guilty to five charges. In 2011 he was sentenced to five years in prison for a drug-related probation violation and was released a year later. In 2020 he was arrested three times in a span of one month in Florida.

The Raiders’ announcement and Brown’s post were among the first public confirmations of Robbins’ death. Further details have not been released at this time.

Image Referance: https://www.the-sun.com/sport/16147716/barret-robbins-dies-oakland-raiders-super-bowl-missing/