Former Cardinals star Tootie Robbins passes away after COVID-19 battle

Tootie Robbins passed away from COVID-19.

The NFL as a whole, more specifically the Arizona Cardinals, are mourning a rock-solid right tackle who lost his fight against the coronavirus after Tootie Robbins passed away.

Robbins, who played for 12 seasons in the NFL, passed away at the age of 62, as his niece confirmed that the former offensive tackle lost his fight with the COVID-19 virus.

Tootie Robbins was one of the best right tackles in the 1980s.

Robbins was picked in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL Draft after a standout career at East Carolina. In that same draft, the Cardinals, then in St. Louis, added three-time Pro Bowler Luis Sharpe, forming one of the best tackle combinations in the league. Robbins never made a Pro Bowl, but his ability to handle the best pass rushers in the league deserves adulation. His best season was a dominant 1984 in which he started all 16 games on a 9-7 Cardinals team.

Robbins’ best years came after the team moved to Arizona in 1988. While his pass protection was still excellent, the lack of team success prevented him from getting the same amount of hype as his contemporaries. He finally started to enter the natural conversation in the latter part of his career, as he signed with the Green Bay Packers to protect a young Brett Favre. By that time, however, he was not the same elite player he was as a Cardinal.

Robbins retired with 149 games started during his 12-year career, as he retired right before Green Bay started to round into form before the 1994 season. Former Packer Leroy Butler offered his condolences to Robbins’ family on twitter.

Robbins’ untimely passing is crushing news. Hopefully that his legacy as one of the best pass-blocking right tackles over the course of the 1980s stays alive after his death.