Rashard Robinson (born July 23, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and was selected by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in the fourth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. Robinson has also been a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

Early life

Robinson was born in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part ...

, where he attended Blanche Ely High School.

College career

Robinson attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, where he played two seasons of

for the LSU Tigers under head coach Les Miles. He recorded one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

and 30

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

in 15 games. Robinson was suspended indefinitely from LSU's football team midway through the 2014 season due to a failed drug test and substandard academics. After missing a semester, he was arrested in June 2015 for unauthorized entry into a teammate's apartment and was not allowed to re-enroll. He returned to Florida and enrolled at Broward College in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, where he began training for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of LSU, Robinson was by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts to be a fourth or fifth round pick. He received an invitation to the

NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

and boasted he would run a 4.2 forty-yard dash. Robinson's performance was sub-par and he elected to skip the

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

and wasn't able to complete the short shuttle or three-cone drill after suffering a calf injury. On March 14, 2016, he attended LSU's

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, but held a private workout afterwards due to his tumultuous past with the team. All 32 NFL teams were in attendance as Robinson opted to complete all of the combine and positional drills. He was able to shorten his times in the 40 (4.40), 20 (2.61), and 10-yard dash (1.60) from the combine. Robinson was ranked as the 16th best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. NFL analysts and scouts cited his thin frame, off the field problems, spindly legs, and character concerns were cited as his top issues. Robinson was considered to be one of the top press corners in the draft and was described in scouting reports as a player with a long frame and great man coverage ability. He also has blazing straight line speed and explosiveness.

San Francisco 49ers

2016

The

selected Robinson in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the

. He was one of three

cornerbacks A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

the 49ers selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, along with Will Redmond (third round) and Prince Charles Iworah (seventh round). On May 6, 2016, the 49ers signed Robinson to a four-year, $2.72 million contract a signing bonus of $383,393. He competed with Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser, Dontae Johnson, Marcus Cromartie, Chris Davis, Will Redmond, and Prince Charles Iworah throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

for a role as the backup cornerback. Head coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as a college foo ...

named him the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind

Tramaine Brock Tramaine Brock Sr. (born August 20, 1988) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at Belhaven University and the University of Minnesota before signing with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free ...

, Jimmie Ward, Davis, and Johnson. He made his professional regular season debut during the 49ers' season-opening 28–0 victory over the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. The next game, he made his first career tackle during the 49ers' 27–46 loss to the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. On October 2, 2016, Robinson earned the first start of his career in place of Jimmie Ward, who suffered a

quad QUaD, an acronym for QUEST at DASI, was a ground-based cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization experiment at the South Pole. QUEST (Q and U Extragalactic Sub-mm Telescope) was the original name attributed to the bolometer detector instrume ...

injury during a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

play the week prior. Robinson made five solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections in his first start, as the 49ers lost 17–24 to the

. During Week 6 matchup against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, he made his third start and tied his season-high of five solo tackles as the 49ers lost 16–45. He left midway through the game after suffering a concussion. Robinson was forced to miss Weeks 9-10 after he suffered an MCL sprain. On December 24, 2016, Robinson made a solo tackle, deflected two passes, and had the first interception of his career after he picked off a pass attempt from Rams' quarterback Jared Goff in a 22–21 victory. He finished his rookie season with a total of 28 combined tackles (25 solo), 8 pass deflections, and 1 interception in 14 games and 6 starts.

2017

Robinson entered training camp competing for one of the vacant starting cornerback jobs after Jimmie Ward was moved to

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

and Tramaine Brock was released following a

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

incident. He competed with Dontae Johnson, Keith Reaser, Ahkello Witherspoon, and K'Waun Williams throughout training camp. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him the starting cornerback opposite Dontae Johnson to begin the season. Robinson started the 49ers' season-opener against the Panthers and recorded four combined tackles and recovered a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

after forcing it from

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal footbal ...

in the fourth quarter in a 3–23 loss. During a Week 4 contest against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, he recorded a season-high six solo tackles and a season-high four pass deflections, as the 49ers lost in overtime 15–18. On October 15, 2017, Robinson recorded two combined tackles, defended a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt from

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

' quarterback

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans football, Mi ...

, during a 24–26 loss.

New York Jets

On October 31, 2017, Robinson was traded to the

in exchange for a fifth round pick in the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. The Jets traded for Robinson to provide depth to a cornerback corps after Buster Skrine suffered a concussion, Morris Claiborne was unable to practice due to a foot injury, and Xavier Coleman was placed on injured/reserve for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. On July 25, 2018, Robinson was suspended the first four games of 2018 for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. On May 10, 2019, Robinson was released by the Jets. He was suspended for the first 10 weeks of the

2019 NFL season The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears. T ...

for violating the league's substance abuse policy on July 17, 2019. He was reinstated from suspension on March 19, 2020.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 15, 2020, Robinson was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on October 24, and restored to the practice squad on November 18. He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 and November 26 for the team's weeks 11 and 12 games against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on December 7, 2020. Robinson was suspended by the NFL on April 20, 2021, for the first two games of the 2021 season for violating the league's

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

policy. He was released by the Cowboys on July 17, 2021.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After serving his two-game suspension, Robinson signed with the

' practice squad on September 20, 2021. He was promoted to the active roster on October 19. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 12, after suffering a hamstring injury in practice. He was activated on December 24. He was waived on January 15, 2022 and re-signed to the practice squad. After the Buccaneers were eliminated in the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs, he signed a reserve/future contract on January 24. On August 30, 2022, Robinson was placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 2.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On March 31, 2023, Robinson signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He was placed on the reserve/suspended list on May 14, 2024, and remained there until February 11, 2025, when he became a free agent at the end of his CFL contract.

Legal troubles

Robinson was suspended indefinitely from LSU's football team midway through the 2014 season due to a failed drug test and substandard academics. After missing a semester, he was arrested in June 2015 for unauthorized entry into a teammate's apartment and was not allowed to re-enroll. He returned to Florida and enrolled at Broward College in

, where he began training for the NFL Draft. On January 10, 2018, Robinson was arrested for possessing marijuana-laced candy. On July 25, 2018, Robinson was suspended for four games as a result of these prior arrests.

References

External links

LSU Tigers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Rashard 1995 births Living people American football cornerbacks Blanche Ely High School alumni Dallas Cowboys players LSU Tigers football players New York Jets players Players of American football from Pompano Beach, Florida San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Broward College alumni Saskatchewan Roughriders players Players of Canadian football from Florida