A'Shawn Robinson

A'Shawn Robinson (born March 21, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft and has also played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he won Super Bowl LVI.

Robinson was a five-star recruit out of high school, with one service listing him as the nation's top defensive tackle. Robinson played in all 13 of Alabama's games in the 2013 season and started in two games. Robinson was the only true freshman under head coach Nick Saban at Alabama to lead the team in sacks. At 320 pounds, Robinson would line-up at both defensive end and tackle for Alabama during his freshman season. In his junior season, he appeared at fullback in goal line situations in games against LSU and Michigan State in addition to starting on the defensive line.

Early life A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Robinson attended Arlington Heights High School. In addition to football, he competed on his high school's varsity basketball and track & field teams. A two-way lineman for the Arlington Heights Yellowjackets football team, Robinson was coached by Todd Whitten in his senior season. Robinson was listed as the No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation in 2013. ESPN listed him as a four-star recruit and ranked him 105th overall on their "ESPN 300" ranking. Robinson chose to attend Alabama over Texas, Southern California, Louisiana State, Arkansas, and Florida State. He was originally verbally committed to attend Texas as of February 2012. Just prior to National Signing Day in February 2013, however, he de-committed from Texas and officially signed with Alabama. Robinson and tight end O. J. Howard were Alabama's only true freshmen to have both started a game and played in every game of the 2013 season. No other true freshman was a "player of the week" on offense or defense during the 2013 season.

At the end of his first college football season Robinson was the only Alabama freshman named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coaches' All-Freshman team. Robinson was also on the 2013 Sporting News Freshman All-American team.

Alabama's pass rushers in 2013 Sacks Quarterback hurries (QBH) Tackles TFL (ex. sacks) TFL yards A'Shawn Robinson 5.5 5 38 2.5 40 Denzel Devall 5 3 30 2.0 22 Adrian Hubbard 3 4 33 2.5 27 Trey DePriest 2 0 65 5.5 23 C. J. Mosley 0 10 108 9.0 20

Sophomore year (2014) Robinson was selected to the 2014 first-team in the pre-season Media Days All-SEC Team. He was held out of some practices in August due to a sprained knee. He led his team in tackles in the 2014 SEC Championship game versus Missouri. It was the first time in his career that he led the team in tackles. He started every game in the 2014 season, during which Alabama led the nation in rushing defense. His teammates gave him the nickname of "Infamous A-Tron," a blend of A'Shawn and Megatron. Robinson led Alabama in quarterback hurries and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy, an award for the nation's best interior lineman (both offensive and defensive). Robinson did not win the Outland Trophy, and the Alabama football team used this snub as motivation in their College Football Playoff game against Michigan State. After the season, Robinson decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2016 NFL draft.

Year School GP–GS Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Fumbles Blocked Solo Ast Total Loss–Yards No–Yards Int–Yards BU PD QBH Rcv–Yards FF Kick 2013 Alabama 13–2 16 22 38 8.0–40 5.5–34 0–0 1 1 5 0–0 0 1 2014 Alabama 14–14 16 33 49 6.5–11 0.0–0 0–0 3 2 4 0–0 1 1 2015 Alabama 15–15 18 28 46 7.5–25 3.5–19 0–0 2 2 10 1–9 0 1

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Robinson was selected in the second round with the 46th overall pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL Draft. On May 10, 2016, Robinson signed with the Detroit Lions. He recorded his first career sack against Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in Week 5. In Week 16 of the 2016 season, against the Dallas Cowboys, Robinson drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for tackling running back Ezekiel Elliott too hard. The motion Robinson used on the tackle made it look like he was picking up Elliot and slamming him down, but the announcers agreed that the hit looked clean. He finished his rookie season leading all defensive tackles in the NFL in pass deflections with seven.

During Week 6 of the 2017 NFL season, Robinson recorded his first career interception off Drew Brees and returned it two yards for a touchdown. However, the Lions still lost to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 52–38. In Week 9, he blocked a Mason Crosby field goal attempt to help the Lions beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field by a score of 30–17.

In the 2018 season, Robinson played in 13 games with seven starts, recording 49 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. He was placed on injured reserve on December 28, 2018.

In the 2019 season, Robinson played in 13 games with nine starts, recording 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.

Los Angeles Rams On April 24, 2020, the Los Angeles Rams signed Robinson to a two-year contract. He was placed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of training camp on August 8, 2020. Robinson was placed on reserve/non-football injury to start the season. He was activated on October 30. Robinson appeared in eight games during the regular season.

In the 2021 season, Robinson recorded two sacks, 67 total tackles, and two forced fumbles in 17 games. Robinson helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20. In the Super Bowl, Robinson recorded six tackles and one sack and was instrumental in shutting down the Bengals running game.

On November 26, 2022, Robinson was placed on injured reserve with a torn meniscus. He finished the 2022 season with 42 total tackles in ten games.

New York Giants On April 24, 2023, Robinson signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the New York Giants. In the 2023 season, Robinson finished with 62 total tackles and two passes defended in 17 games.

Carolina Panthers On March 13, 2024, Robinson signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.

Robinson had a career year in 2024, recording career-highs with 80 tackles and 5.5 sacks through 16 starts. He followed that up with 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2025.

Robinson was released by the Panthers on March 10, 2026.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers On March 11, 2026, Robinson signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

NFL career statistics Regular season Legend Won the Super Bowl Bold Career high

Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF Fmb FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2016 DET 16 5 30 22 8 2.0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 7 2017 DET 16 16 53 32 21 0.5 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 2.0 2 1 6 2018 DET 13 7 49 34 15 1.0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2019 DET 13 9 40 32 8 1.5 3 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 2020 LAR 8 0 12 6 6 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 2021 LAR 17 14 67 33 34 2.0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2022 LAR 10 10 42 22 20 0.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2023 NYG 17 13 62 34 28 0.0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 2024 CAR 16 16 80 43 37 5.5 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 2025 CAR 17 16 65 21 44 2.5 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 3 Career 143 106 500 279 221 15.0 37 6 1 4 6 0 1 2 2.0 2 1 23

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF Fmb FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD 2016 DET 1 1 7 2 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2020 LAR 2 0 6 4 2 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2021 LAR 4 4 22 12 10 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2025 CAR 1 1 3 2 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 Career 8 6 38 20 18 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0

Personal life Due to his physical appearance, Robinson is often questioned of his actual age. Having started playing football at the age of 4, his mother stated that she would bring his birth certificate to games, due to opposing coaches challenging his age for eligibility. "I couldn't play because I was too big and they had to see my birth certificate," said Robinson. This would continue into his adult years; he shared that he was often mistaken for a 35-year-old coach when he was actually a 20-year-old student athlete.