Barret Robbins obit

Former Raiders’ center Barret Robbins dies, teammate announces

Former star offensive lineman was 52 

He was not on the list.

Former Oakland Raiders standout center Barret Robbins has died, according to former teammate Tim Brown.

Robbins was 52. There were no other details about Robbins’ death available. Friday, the Raiders made a statement on Robbins’ death.

His death is a sad ending to a complicated and troubling career and life for Robbins, who first joined the Raiders in 1995 as a second-round pick out of TCU. Robbins quickly became one of the best centers in the NFL. He was named first-team All-Pro in 2002.

His career and life began to unravel, though, when he went AWOL from the team he day before Super Bowl XXXVII. He was suspended for the game, a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He did return in 2003 and started all nine games he played. The Raiders released him in 2004 and he never played again. Robbins’ post-playing life was marred by several arrests and other personal issues.

Our condolences go out to Robbins’ family and friends.

Eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Robbins went missing the day before Super Sunday on Jan. 26, 2003. He returned to the team in time but was deemed unable to play. Robbins later told ESPN that he’d convinced himself the Raiders already won and that he was celebrating; he even reached Tijuana, Mexico, although he could not recall why he went there. Super Bowl 37 was played in San Diego.

“I mean, this was the biggest game of my life,” Robbins told ESPN months later. “This was everything I had worked for as a child, as a young man, as a collegiate athlete and going into the pros, this is everything I had worked for and … it’s unbelievable to me.”

Robbins completed a 30-day stint in rehab, where he was treated for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse after the episode before, returning to the team. Robbins later told HBO’s Real Sports he would enter manic episodes for weeks at a time.

After playing college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, he was taken by the Raiders in the second round of the 1995 NFL draft. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in 2002.