The Atlanta Falcons are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7, and the biggest storyline of the game is Bijan Robinson's usage -- or the lack thereof.
The rookie running back had cemented his role as the No. 1 ball-carrier on the Falcons through six weeks, and most expected Robinson to continue carrying the brunt of the Falcons' rushing workload on Sunday afternoon against the Bucs.
Instead, the script favored Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson. At the time of this writing, Allgeier has seven rushes for 26 yards and Patterson has six rushes for 25 yards. Robinson has none. No rushing attempts, no yards, no targets. He has played only seven snaps total.
What is going on in Atlanta?
Bijan Robinson has disappeared from Falcons' offense in Week 7 vs. Bucs
Going into Sunday, Robinson had accumulated 401 rushing yards and added 26 catches for 189 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Robinson was a full participant in Falcons' practices this past week, wasn't on the injury report, and didn't appear to get injured during the game. Head coach Arthur Smith said last week that the team was going "to be careful" about Robinson's workload and overall health, which may suggest some injury concerns.
But.... zero carries? Zero targets? Against a middling Bucs defense? It doesn't make sense.
The Falcons are tied 10-10 against the Bucs and could use an offensive spark in the second half -- a spark by the name of Bijan Robinson.
For a quick update: the FOX broadcast noted at the start of the third quarter that Robinson could be dealing with an illness. The details of the illness are unknown.
