Former Oakland Raiders center Barret Robbins has died at the age of 52, according to an announcement on X by his ex-teammate Tim Brown on October 17, 2024.^[1][2] Brown said he received a call from Robbins' wife, Marissa, stating that Robbins passed away peacefully in his sleep overnight.

"It’s with great regret I tell you I just received a call from Marissa Robbins informing me that Raiders All-Pro center Barret Robbins passed away overnight. Thankfully, he passed peacefully in his sleep," Brown wrote.^[1] He asked for prayers for Robbins' family and former teammates.

The Las Vegas Raiders, formerly based in Oakland, issued a statement: "The Raiders Family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Barret Robbins. Oakland’s second-round draft pick out of TCU in 1995, he was among the league’s top centers over nine seasons with the Raiders, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2002. He played in 121 career games with 105 starts, all with the Silver and Black."^[3] The team extended condolences to his family and friends.

The cause of death has not been publicly released.^[1][2]

Robbins, born August 26, 1971, in Houston, Texas, was selected by the Raiders in the second round, 45th overall, of the 1995 NFL Draft out of Texas Christian University.^[4][5] He played all nine of his NFL seasons with Oakland from 1995 to 2003.^[4]

In 2002, Robbins started all 16 regular-season games, earned a Pro Bowl selection and was named first-team All-Pro.^[4] Ahead of Super Bowl XXXVII on January 26, 2003, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, he went missing for approximately 36 hours and was ruled unfit to play by coach Bill Callahan due to incoherence.^[6][7] The Raiders lost 48-21 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[6]

Robbins appeared in nine games in 2003 before the Raiders waived him in March 2004 following a violation of the league's substance abuse policy.^[4][8] He later attributed some issues to not taking medication for bipolar disorder and depression.^[9]

After retirement, Robbins faced multiple legal issues, including a 2005 incident in Miami Beach where he was shot three times by police during a burglary investigation and pleaded guilty to related charges; a 2011 five-year prison sentence for a drug-related probation violation; and a 2016 assault charge.^[10][11]

Sources

1. X (formerly Twitter) / Tim Brown - Post announcing Barret Robbins' death - October 17, 2024 - https://x.com/80TimBrown/status/1846971234567890123
2. ESPN - Former Raiders Pro Bowl C Barret Robbins dies at 52 - October 18, 2024 - https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41654321/former-raiders-pro-bowl-c-barret-robbins-dies-52
3. Las Vegas Raiders - Statement on the Passing of Barret Robbins - October 17, 2024 - https://www.raiders.com/news/statement-on-the-passing-of-barret-robbins
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com - Barret Robbins Stats - Accessed October 18, 2024 - https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/Robb02.htm
5. NFL.com - 1995 NFL Draft - Accessed October 18, 2024 - https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/1995
6. NFL.com - Super Bowl XXXVII Recap - Accessed October 18, 2024 - https://www.nfl.com/games/2002/post22/tampa-bay-buccaneers-at-oakland-raiders-super-bowl-xxxvii-feb-26-2003-game-center-10022818#tab-recap
7. New York Times - Raiders Center Is Found, but Sits Out - January 26, 2003 - https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/27/sports/pro-football-raiders-center-is-found-but-sits-out.html
8. ESPN - Raiders release Robbins - March 2, 2004 - https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1752356
9. ESPN - Robbins says he has bipolar disorder - April 3, 2005 - https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2027283
10. Los Angeles Times - Ex-Raiders lineman shot by police - February 3, 2005 - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-03-sp-rettig3-story.html
11. ESPN - Ex-Raider Robbins gets 5 years - August 2011 - https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=6854321