Laurent Robinson (born May 20, 1985) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

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 ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He was selected by the Falcons in the third round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Illinois State Redbirds.

Early life

Robinson attended Rockledge High School in

Rockledge, Florida Rockledge is the oldest city in Brevard County, Florida. The city's population was 27,678 at the 2020 Census, up from 24,926 at the 2010 United States Census, and is part of the Palm Bay−Melbourne− Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

. As a junior, he became a regular starter with the

team, recording 6 catches for 70 yards and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track. As a senior, he caught 55 passes for 903 yards and 11

s, while helping his team win back-to-back Class 3A Florida State championships in 2001 and 2002, with identical 14-1 records. He was named honorable-mention All-State, All-Space Coast and All-Conference. Robinson was a four-year member of the

and track teams. He received a scholarship to attend

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

, after his stepfather contacted the Redbirds' coaching staff; as his brother had also been recruited there a year before.

College career

As a freshman at Division I-AA

, he appeared in all 12 games with 6 starts, including the final 5 games. He ranked second on the team with 19 receptions for 260 yards (13.7-yard avg.) and 3 receiving touchdowns (tied the school freshman record). As a sophomore in 2004, he started in all 11 games, leading the team with 44 receptions for 564 yards (12.0-yard avg.) and 7

s. He had his first career 100-yard receiving game in the season opener against Saint Xavier University. As a junior in 2005, he was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year and a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, after setting school single-season records with 86 receptions for 1,465 yards, a 17.0 yard average for 12

s (second in school history). He led the Division I-AA in receiving yards per game (133.18) and was second nationally with 7.82 receptions per game. He was also a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top offensive player in Division I-AA. As a senior in 2006, he started 9 games and missed 4 contests with an ankle injury. He ranked second on the team with 40 catches for 718 yards and 7

s. In the season opener against

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

, he had 9 receptions for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns, before suffering an illegal block on a fourth quarter kickoff return, that sidelined him with an ankle sprain for 2 games. He recovered to catch 6 passes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns against

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

. In the fifth game against

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

, he re-injured his ankle and was forced to miss the next two contests. Robinson finished his college career with 37 starts out of 43 games, making 192 receptions (a school record) for 3,007 yards (a school record) and 29 receiving

s. In 2009, he was voted to the

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

quarter-century team. In 2015, he was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

After running the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds at the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, he was selected by the

in the third round (75th overall) of the

. As a rookie, he played in 15 games (six starts) and recorded 37 receptions for 437 yards (11.8 avg.) and one

. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, rookie

Harry Douglas Harry Douglas IV (born September 16, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardin ...

and the return of Brian Finneran from a two-year absence, led to Robinson falling on the depth chart. That season, he played in only six games because of head and hamstring injuries, making 5 receptions for 52 yards.

St. Louis Rams

On April 7,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

the Falcons traded Robinson and its fifth round (160th overall) and sixth round (196th overall) draft choices to the

, in exchange for their fifth round (138th overall) and sixth round (176th overall) selections. Robinson became a starter until he fractured his fibula on September 28,

and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. At the time, he was leading the team in receptions with 13 for 167 yards. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he had another dismissive season. He appeared in 14 games (11 starts), finishing fifth on the team with 34 receptions for 344 yards and 2

s. He became an

unrestricted 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 ...

and wasn't re-signed after the season.

San Diego Chargers

On August 3,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he signed as a

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 ...

with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He had a disappointing preseason in which he had only 1 catch for 18 yards through the first three preseason games. Despite an impressive final preseason game in which he caught six passes for 120 yards, he was released at the end of training camp on September 3,

Dallas Cowboys

On September 7, 2011, he was signed by the

, who scouted him during the joint practices they had with the

in training camp. He was released on September 13, after suffering a hamstring injury during his first practice. On September 20, he was re-signed to the roster as insurance to shore up an inexperienced

roster. Robinson would end up having a breakout season and quickly earning the third receiver job. On October 2, he caught seven passes for 116 yards in a loss to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. During the week eight loss against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he had five catches for 103 yards and a

, his first as a Cowboy. In the next game on November 6, Robinson again caught five passes for 32 yards and a

. Robinson followed up that game with three catches, two of which were

s, against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

starting in place of Miles Austin, while he was recovering from a hamstring injury. From week 8 through week 12, Laurent caught 24 passes for a total of 321 yards and 7 touchdowns. Robinson played a key role in the offense and registered career highs with 54 receptions for 858 receiving yards and a team leading 11

s. Having a one-year contract with the Cowboys, he became an

at the conclusion of the season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 14,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, he signed a five-year, $32.5 million contract with the

, in which 14 million was guaranteed. Although he was expected to be the team's number one receiver, he failed to impress and missed 9 games, after suffering 4

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

s and being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on November 21. The first concussion happened in training camp, when he landed on a small strip of concrete pavers near the practice field. Robinson was later seen as a health risk and was released on March 13,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

References

External links

Official websiteIllinois State Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Laurent 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Pierce County, Washington American football wide receivers Illinois State Redbirds football players Atlanta Falcons players St. Louis Rams players People from Fort Lewis, Washington Dallas Cowboys players Jacksonville Jaguars players People from Rockledge, Florida Players of American football from Brevard County, Florida San Diego Chargers players