Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was arrested this week on suspicion of driving under the influence, will not be suspended by the team and will play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.
Robinson was arrested early Monday after California Highway Patrol officers observed him allegedly speeding at more than 100 mph on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills. He was cited at the scene and released.
“He understands the severity of this and how lucky we were that nobody was injured,” McVay said, adding that he would deal with the situation in an unspecified way internally. “I did appreciate his ability to acknowledge it to the team, while also not minimizing … the severity of what could have been.
“And I do trust that he’s going to learn from it, and I think it’ll be a good learning opportunity for our whole football team.”
Robinson, a ninth-year pro, said he made “a bad decision” to drive while impaired. Robinson said he informed McVay about the incident Monday afternoon, and apologized for his actions.
“It’s a bad look,” Robinson said. “I don’t want to bring that type of light or any type of negative energy toward the team. So things like that [are] not … in my nature or stuff that I usually do. So I just told him I sincerely apologize to him and the team and this whole organization for even putting myself and the organization in a predicament like that.”
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Robinson also addressed the team.
“Just letting the guys know we all make mistakes but hopefully we all can learn from it,” he said.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford and other teammates offered support.
“I know that D-Rob is a great person, love being around him, love him as a teammate,” Stafford said. “You know those things aren’t things that he wants to do or be a part of, so I know he’ll learn from it. We all will.”
Said receiver Cooper Kupp: “I told him that I love him. Obviously, it’s a mistake and we’ve all made mistakes and [we’re] just really fortunate that no one was hurt with what took place. We’ll wrap our arms around him. He addressed the team and we’ll be able to move forward from that and be able to support him however we can.”
Robinson, 30, played six seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and one for the Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Rams last season. He caught 26 passes, including four for touchdowns, and the Rams re-signed him to a one-year, $4-million contract that includes $1 million in incentives, according to overthecap.com
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This season Robinson has 26 catches, six for touchdowns, including one in the Rams’ 37-20 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium. The game ended about 8½ hours before his arrest.
The NFL conducts independent investigations about off-the-field incidents involving players but does not typically make a decision about suspensions until the legal process concludes.
Robinson said the incident would not take away from his preparation for the game against the Saints.
“It is real life — I do think about it,” he said, “But, I mean, just try to move on the best that I can from it and let the guys know I’m still here. I still can play ball. … Just trying to stay in a positive mood, keep moving forward and, hopefully, it gets behind us.”
Etc.
Left tackle Alaric Jackson did not practice because of a foot injury, according to the injury report. … Tight end Tyler Higbee, coming back from a knee injury suffered during last season’s NFC wild-card playoff defeat at Detroit, practiced for the first time. Higbee, who was limited, remains on injured reserve and is not expected to be activated for the game against the Saints. … Right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) was a full participant and is expected to play Sunday for the first time in four games.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
