Rashard Robinson

Rashard Robinson (born July 23, 1995) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at LSU, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Robinson has also been a member of the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Early life

Robinson was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, where he attended Blanche Ely High School.

College career Robinson attended Louisiana State University, where he played two seasons of college football for the LSU Tigers under head coach Les Miles. Robinson recorded one interception and 30 tackles 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. Robinson returned to Florida and enrolled at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, where he began training for the NFL draft.

San Francisco 49ers

2016 The San Francisco 49ers selected Robinson in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He was one of three cornerbacks 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 with a signing bonus of $383,393.

Robinson competed with Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser, Dontae Johnson, Marcus Cromartie, Chris Davis, Will Redmond, and Prince Charles Iworah throughout training camp for a role as the backup cornerback. Head coach Chip Kelly named him the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Tramaine Brock, Jimmie Ward, Davis, and Johnson.

Robinson made his professional regular season debut during the 49ers' season-opening 28–0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. In the next game against the Carolina Panthers, Robinson made his first career tackle during the 46–27 road loss. Two weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys, Robinson earned the first start of his career in place of Jimmie Ward, who suffered a quad injury during a special teams play the week prior against the Seattle Seahawks. Robinson finished the 24–17 loss with five solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections in his first start.

During Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, Robinson made his third start and tied his season-high of five solo tackles before leaving the eventual 45–16 road loss in the third quarter with a concussion. He was forced to miss Weeks 9 and 10 after suffering an MCL sprain. During Week 16 against the Rams, Robinson recorded a solo tackle, deflected two passes, and his first interception of his career off of Jared Goff to seal a narrow 22–21 road victory for the 49ers.

Robinson finished his rookie year with 28 tackles, eight pass deflections, and an interception in 14 games and six starts.

2017 Robinson entered training camp competing for one of the vacant starting cornerback jobs after Jimmie Ward was moved to free safety and Tramaine Brock was released following a domestic violence incident. Robinson 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 after forcing it from Christian McCaffrey in the fourth quarter of the 23–3 loss. Three weeks later against the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded a season-high six solo tackles and a season-high four pass deflections in the 18–15 road loss. During Week 6 against the Washington Redskins, Robinson recorded two combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception off of Kirk Cousins in the narrow 26–24 road loss.

New York Jets On October 31, 2017, Robinson was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft. 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. On July 17, he was suspended for the first 10 weeks of the 2019 NFL season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Robinson was reinstated from suspension on March 19, 2020.

Dallas Cowboys On September 15, 2020, Robinson was signed to the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on October 24, and restored to the practice squad on November 18. Robinson 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 and Washington Football Team and was reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on December 7.

On April 20, 2021, Robinson was suspended by the NFL for the first two games of the 2021 season for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. He was released by the Cowboys on July 17.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers After serving his two-game suspension, Robinson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad on September 20, 2021. He was promoted to the active roster on October 19. Robinson was placed on injured reserve on November 12 after suffering a hamstring injury in practice. He was activated on December 24. Robinson was waived on January 15, 2022, and was re-signed to the practice squad. After the Buccaneers were eliminated in the Divisional Round, he signed a reserve/future contract on January 24.

On August 30, 2022, Robinson was placed on injured reserve. He was released three days later.

Saskatchewan Roughriders On March 31, 2023, Robinson signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was placed on the reserve/suspended list on May 14, and remained there until his contract expired on February 11, 2025.

NFL career statistics Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD 2016 SF 14 6 28 25 3 0.0 8 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2017 SF 8 7 27 20 7 0.0 7 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 2 0 NYJ 6 1 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2018 NYJ 10 1 8 7 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2020 DAL 4 3 20 13 7 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 TB 7 0 4 3 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 49 18 89 70 19 0.0 15 2 0 0.0 0 0 1 2 2 0

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. On July 25, he was suspended for four games as a result of these prior arrests.