Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith said Wednesday there’s “nothing there,” when it comes to the NFL’s reported plans to look into the Bijan Robinson situation.
The explosive rookie running back had only one touch and played limited snaps in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Robinson revealed after the game he felt “weird” Saturday and felt completely out of it Sunday morning.
Pro Football Talk reported Monday that the NFL planned to “follow up with the club” regarding the Falcons’ failure to update Robinson’s status before the game.
Smith said Wednesday he thinks the situation is being blown out of proportion.
“You’re talking about sensationalized things,” Smith said (via ESPN). “I understand outrage and drama sells. Guys, like, if you really understand how things really operate that there’s nothing, there’s nothing there.
“So I don’t know what, I haven’t given one second of thought about it.”
The NFL is clearly giving the matter some thought, and might end up coming to a different conclusion than “there’s nothing there.” It goes without saying that a player’s injury and availability status is important not only for competitive reasons, but also for betting purposes.
As far as next Sunday goes, Smith said Robinson is on track to play. The No. 8 overall pick out of Texas in this year’s NFL Draft, Robinson has 593 total yards and two touchdowns this season.
[ESPN]