The good news is that Arizona Cardinals Rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson had two straight days of practice this week and finally appears on track to make his debut as soon as possible.
However, the mystery and shifting narratives during the three-month saga since Robinson suffered a calf injury on Aug. 22 could have been avoided if the team had simply gotten ahead of the story and been consistent while adhering to the NFL’s media policy, which states that “clubs must ensure that all medical information provided to the media is credible, responsible and specific in terms meaningful to teams, media and fans.”
It often happens that little information is communicated. And there are occasions when head coach Jonathan Gannon speaks openly about injuries when asked, as he did recently when guard Isaiah Adams was unable to play against the Jets after his back suffered. be blocked before the match.
In other cases, he provides information pro bono, which, curiously, led to the questioning regarding Robinson’s initial return to training on October 9, and then resulted in chilling comments from the player when he spoke to the media after Wednesday’s practice. the first time this has happened since training camp.
Looking back to Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the media portion of practice, Robinson simply watched his teammates participate in individual drills. The media leaves once those are completed and on the injury report for that day, Robinson was listed as limited, which was surprising considering he didn’t do anything during those individual drills.
However, it is important to note that the practice status is different for injured reserve players and those on the active roster.
The next day, Robinson was listed as not practicing, which never changed until yesterday (he practiced during bonus day Monday while there were no injury reports), a period that included the death of his mother while he was still 21 days old. window for participation in IR practice. There were an unknown number of days when Robinson was not with the team and surely contributed to the long delay in practice.
In the Week 8 injury reports, “personal” was added to the calf injury. The following week, the word “staff” was removed.
What caused some confusion was that Gannon revealed without being asked on October 11 that Robinson had experienced “a little discomfort” and that the team would be “smart” with him moving forward. Before.
Then, on Nov. 8, two days before the game against the Jets and 11 days after being activated from injured reserve, Gannon was asked if Robinson had suffered a setback. He simply replied, “No.”
This seems to contradict what was said about “discomfort”. While some might not interpret this as a setback, the fact that he didn’t practice after it happened indicates otherwise.
Robinson stuck with the “no setbacks” theme on Wednesday.
Asked if he expected to be out as long as he was at the time of the injury, Robinson said, “Not really.”
However, he added: “I mean, with injuries, anything can happen. We didn’t have any setbacks or anything. We knew the timeline of when I was injured. So we took it one day at a time and got better every day.
When asked if the October 9 training was a “test day” or if he hoped it would lead to him coming back and being able to play, he replied: “I don’t really have a complete answer to this subject. This workout just didn’t go well. But we’re here at practice on Wednesday, so I’m happy that we got to this day and I’m just super excited for the future. »
Robinson also described it as “heartbreaking for the first couple of days” after the initial injury because it was so close to the season opener two weeks later and said, “But then again, we knew the timeline of the injury.”
If this is truly the case, one might wonder why he returned to practice at this time.
He repeatedly insisted there were no setbacks, apparently to support the narrative put forward by the organization and perhaps believing that if he said it enough it would make it true.
Yet with the Cardinals returning from the bye leading the NFC West with a 6-4 record, that’s all in the past, and Robinson was understandably happy to be back on the field.
He reiterated: “Like I said, we didn’t have any setbacks, we knew what the injury was and the schedule, but I’m just happy to go to training today. As if you cherish these moments more than ever when they are taken away from you.
He navigated the physical and mental challenges he faced following the injury and loss of his mother and was grateful for the continued support of many people, including owner Michael Bidwill, general manager Monti Ossenfort and Gannon.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,” he admitted. “I just pray about it. I have great teammates that support me. Everyone at the Cardinals, from Mr. Bidwill, Monti, JG, my coach (Derrick LeBlanc); everyone I did everything to support me and I’m so grateful to Nick (defensive coordinator Nick Rallis). I’m in a good mood and excited for today.
“It means everything. These guys, they drafted me, so I owe them everything once I signed my contract and they brought me here. So I’m going to do my best every day and I’m very grateful for them because they’re the same people from the draft and from Indy when we first met. So I’m just happy to have that support.
Robinson also said that during his ordeal, many players texted him and checked in.
It remains to be seen when he will be active for the first time this season. Will it be Sunday?
“I don’t know man,” Robinson said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m just excited about the meeting later to watch the tape with my coaches and see where I can improve in today’s practice.
“It’s been a long time. I haven’t played since the Cotton Bowl (except for 10 snaps in a preseason game). Ultimately, I’m just on the road right now and it doesn’t matter what we consider the best for the team, I’m just going to focus on being the best Darius I can be today.
A lot of that has to do with the legendary preparation he does, which Robinson talked about immediately after being drafted and then later to local media.
It’s no surprise that not being able to practice or play for nearly three months hasn’t affected his attention to detail.
“I’ll show you my notebook,” he said. “It was awesome and even more exciting because I got to see from a fan’s point of view, but also see, ‘This is how Budda (Baker) does it and just see how he operates and see how the team works.’ So I still took my notes as if I were playing.
“I always did walkthroughs as if I were playing. So that when it’s time for me to leave, there’s no problem. And then also seeing the great players around me here at the Cardinals go through their process. I’m just super excited.
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This article was originally published on Cards Wire: Rookie DL Darius Robinson focuses on getting ready to play
