Bryan Keith Robinson (June 22, 1974June 11, 2016), nicknamed "Big Dog", was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He was originally signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1997. Robinson also played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

College career

He began his college football career at

College of the Desert College of the Desert (COD) is a public community college in Palm Desert, California. COD enrolls about 12,500 students, of which around one third attend college full-time. It serves the Coachella Valley of Riverside County. The college is feder ...

in Palm Desert, CA. After College of the Desert, Robinson and Bill Hall beat

Steve Sarkisian Stephen Sarkisian (; born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB Genealogy – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". – ''Dallas Morning News''– December 31, 1996. is an American football coach and former player ...

of El Camino College in the 1994 Southern California Bowl at College of the Desert. Robinson transferred to the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

in 1995.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Bryan Robinson played one season with the St. Louis Rams in 1997, after making the roster as an undrafted free agent.

Chicago Bears

Robinson made one of the most memorable plays in Chicago Bears history on November 7, 1999. Playing at Green Bay in the first Bears game since the death of

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American professional American football, ...

, he blocked a 28-yard

Ryan Longwell Ryan Walker Longwell (born August 16, 1974Ryan Longwell
NFLPA.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014.< ...

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempt in the final seconds to preserve a 14–13 victory over the Packers and end the Bears 10 game losing streak against their rival. He was waived on September 5, 2004. At the time of his release, he was the longest tenured player on the Chicago Bears defense.

Miami Dolphins

On September 7, 2004, Robinson signed a 1-year contract worth $1.5 million with the Miami Dolphin

He played in all 16 games and notched 41 tackles in his lone season with the Dolphins.

Cincinnati Bengals

On March 13, 2005, The Cincinnati Bengals signed Bryan Robinson to a 3-year contract worth $6 million, including a $1.7 million signing bonus.

Arizona Cardinals

On April 11, 2008, Robinson was signed by the

. He would go on to appear in his first Super Bowl when the Cardinals faced the Steelers in

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. The Cardinals would lose the game 27–23.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Death

On June 11, 2016, Robinson was found dead of

hypertensive heart disease Hypertensive heart disease includes a number of complications of high blood pressure that affect the heart. While there are several definitions of hypertensive heart disease in the medical literature, the term is most widely used in the context of ...

in a Milwaukee motel room.

References

1974 births 2016 deaths American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Arizona Cardinals players Chicago Bears players Cincinnati Bengals players Fresno State Bulldogs football players Miami Dolphins players St. Louis Rams players College of the Desert Roadrunners football players Players of American football from Toledo, Ohio 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen {{defensive-lineman-1970s-stub