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Washington Commanders rookie running back Brian Robinson had a heck of a day in Week 12, both on and off the field. After putting up a great game that helped keep his team’s playoff hopes alive, the fashionable former Alabama back absolutely lit the internet on fire with a giant hat. And what’s even more amazing is that this offensive Rookie of the Year candidate was shot just three months ago.  

Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. is winning on and off the field

Taylor Heinicke hands off to Brian Robinson Jr. of the Washington Commanders.
Taylor Heinicke hands off to Brian Robinson Jr. | Greg Fiume/Getty Images

On Friday, April 28, 2022, Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr.’s dreams came true, and the Washington Commanders took him in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Four months to the day later, Robinson was in a hospital bed after he was shot twice in the leg during an attempted car-jacking.

The Alabama native’s life just kept getting wilder from there.

Six weeks after being shot, Robinson made his NFL debut. He rushed for 22 yards on nine carries in a Commanders’ Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Since then, both Robinson and the Commanders have improved dramatically.

Heading into Week 12, Robinson has taken over the No. 1 RB role from Antonio Gibson and had 108 carries for 362 yards and two touchdowns. And with quarterback Taylor Heinicke at the helm, the Commanders went from 1-4 after Robinson’s debut to 7-5 after a 19-13 victory over the Falcons on Thanksgiving weekend.

In the Week 12 tilt, Robinson led the team with 18 carries for 105 yards and scored the first receiving touchdown of his career as the Commanders controlled the ground game and got the W over an NFC opponent.

With the Seattle Seahawks’ overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the win put the Commanders in the seventh and final NFC playoff spot.

Robinson’s good times didn’t stop there, though. After the game, reporters snapped pictures of the running back in a giant baseball cap. Washington Post beat writer Sam Fortier asked the RN about the unique fashion choice and then tweeted, “Brian Robinson said his friend has a ‘big hat’ company. ‘If you want a big hat, let me know.’”

The picture and Robinson’s matter-of-fact response to the situation has since taken the internet by storm, and seemingly every NFL pundit has thoughts on the sartorial choice of a big hat.

For many players, this might be an odd incident. For Brian Robinson Jr., internet stardom is just the logical next step in a wild career that’s less than a year old.

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Staff Writer, Producer - NFL

Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.