One of the most questionable parts of the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 7 contest was the lack of touches for prized rookie running back Bijan Robinson.
Now, the Falcons have come under question regarding Robinson and the reason for his limited action.
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Reason Behind Bijan Robinson Being Limited by Atlanta Falcons Revealed
Via “The Insiders” on the NFL Network on Monday, Ian Rapoport revealed that the former University of Texas running back was unhealthy and that he “wasn’t feeling like himself.”
From The Insiders on #NFLPlus: #Falcons RB Bijan Robinson, whose snaps were limited Sunday because he wasn't feeling well, won't be affected going forward. pic.twitter.com/yyF9p2DNOV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 23, 2023
Turns out that Robinson was battling an illness and admitted after the Bucs game that he was “feeling weird.” He ended his afternoon with just one carry for three yards in what became a penalty-marred 16-13 Falcons win.
“I was trying to see how I was going to feel on the field, and I was just going down,” Robinson told reporters after the game. “So I talked to Coach [Arthur] Smith.”
MORE: NFL Week 7 Winners and Losers
Robinson admitted he was dealing with headaches as part of his illness. Rapoport included how head coach Smith found out during the game that Atlanta’s top running back option wasn’t feeling well. However, the NFL league office could be stepping in to look further into the Falcons’ handling of Robinson.
Insider Reveals League’s Involvement in Falcons Situation With Robinson
Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein and NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Falcons didn’t report Robinson’s health ahead of the Bucs contest.
Now, the league plans to follow up and ask why the franchise never self-reported Robinson’s health as part of injury-report compliance questions being sent to Atlanta.
“It is standard practice for the league to question teams about a player if he is not included on the weekly injury report and then is either unavailable for the game or plays far less than what typically occurs. Violations have been met with fines,” ESPN reported.
The report adds: “The Falcons believed Robinson always was going to play the game and therefore did not need to be added to the injury report, a source told ESPN.”
Meanwhile, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones posted what the ruling about reporting injuries or illnesses is in its entirety.
Here's the language around game status reporting practices https://t.co/iIpF5d3JCD pic.twitter.com/EclE6Fyd1I
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) October 23, 2023
Robinson believes he’ll be good to go next week. He told reporters after Sunday’s win: “I don’t care what I’m going through, I’m going to push through,” while also acknowledging that his head coach “has [Robinson’s] best interest at heart.”
Without Robinson, Atlanta still managed 153 rushing yards and got the lone touchdown on a Desmond Ridder quarterback-keeper run. But now the Falcons are under league investigation for their handling of Robinson.