Former Oakland Raiders Center Barret Robbins Dies at 52 — The Ex-Pro Bowler, Famously Missing Before the Super Bowl XXXVII, Is Remembered for Both His On-Field Impact and the Personal Struggles That Marked His Career.
Former Raiders Pro Bowl and All-Pro center Barret Robbins, who went missing before Super Bowl 2003, has died at the age of 52, the team announced Friday.
Ex-teammate and Raiders legend Tim Brown tweeted early Friday morning that Robbins’ ex-wife, Marisa, informed him he died “peacefully” in his sleep.
“The thoughts and condolences of the entire Raider Nation are with Barret’s family and friends during this difficult time,” the team said.
Barret Robbins in 2003.
Robbins played for the Raiders for nine seasons from 1995 to 2003 after being selected by the franchise in the second round of the 1995 draft.
His best season came in 2002, when the Raiders advanced to the Super Bowl and lost to the Buccaneers, 48-21.
Robbins earned his lone Pro Bowl berth and only All-Pro First-Team honors that year.
That season, though, ended in disaster for Robbins after then-coach Bill Callahan suspended him for going missing the day before the game in San Diego.
Robbins told ESPN in 2003 that he began suffering from a bipolar episode the Wednesday before the game, leaving him feeling scared, and he turned to drinking.
He left the team hotel after 11 p.m. Friday night and went to Tijuana.
Barret Robbins during the leadup to the Super Bowl.
“I remember the morning of Friday, Friday morning, or Saturday morning, I remember being somewhere by the ocean and looking for a way home, or looking for a ride or … I don’t really know what I was looking for … telling you the truth because that’s where I was; I was lost,” Robbins told ESPN.
He said he thought he was actually celebrating a Super Bowl triumph.
“Well, yeah, yeah,” he told ESPN. “And it sounds odd, but it’s just … that’s the way … that’s the way my rationale is going or my head was going … I was out of it … I guess I had been found at another bar in San Diego and someone got me home, I don’t remember anything from there.”
Brown tweeted he wished the situation had unfolded differently.
Barret Robbins died at 52.
“It’s unfortunate that his life was never the same after he was not allowed to play in the Super Bowl!” Brown wrote. “Rest Peacefully BR, you deserve it!”
Robbins later checked into rehab, which he said allowed him to focus on his substance abuse issues while also being treated for bipolar disease.
The Raiders brought him back for one final season in 2003, and Robbins played nine games.
Robbins appeared in 121 career games and started 105 after playing for TCU in college.
He ran afoul of the law a few times after his career ended, including multiple arrests.
In 2005, Robbins was arrested on three counts of attempted felony murder after being shot during a brawl with police officers in Florida.
Said Brown: “Please pray for their girls, his family, and tons of teammates who will be affected by this!”
