Hawks miss Robinson
The Seattle Seahawks opened a three-day passing minicamp Monday without Koren Robinson, the talented but troubled receiver who was released last week after a litany of problems.
“I was saddened by the whole thing,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “It was well documented. I didn’t make any bones about what we were going to try to do for him. I prayed for him every day. It became, to me, much more than a football issue, a life issue.”
Robinson’s long run at the end of Holmgren’s leash ended Thursday after his latest dustup. He has pleaded innocent to drunken and reckless driving charges that followed a traffic stop in the Seattle suburb of Medina early on May 6.
“I phoned him to tell him we were going to release him,” Holmgren said in his first public comments on Robinson. “It was hard. As a teacher, which I look at myself as, somehow I couldn’t communicate well enough with him. I failed, and that bothers me. I don’t regret how we tried to do some things. I hope it works out for him.”
His former teammates missed him, too. Robinson’s infectious laugh made him one of the best-liked players in the locker room.
“It’s difficult, man,” receiver Bobby Engram said. “It’s just the finality of it, coming in and seeing his locker cleaned out. I hated to see it go down like that. We wish him the best. I hope he bounces back with another team.”
Robinson was the ninth overall pick in the 2001 draft. His best season was 2002, when he had 78 catches for 1,240 yards, the only Seattle receiver other than Hall of Famer Steve Largent to log a 1,200-yard season.
His final numbers with Seattle: 213 receptions for 3,167 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Robinson accumulated at least 18 criminal and-or traffic citations – some of them have been dismissed – from draft day 2001 through August 2004, according to court records surveyed by the News Tribune of Tacoma.
Portis settles jersey dispute for $18,000
A trial between former NFL teammates over a jersey number was averted when running back Clinton Portis agreed to pay $18,000 to former Washington Redskins teammate Ifeanyi Ohalete.
Ohalete will receive all but $2,000 of the $20,000 he was seeking as the balance due for a $40,000 agreement that gave Portis the Redskins jersey No. 26 last year. The case appeared headed for a trial in a Maryland District Court today.
“We jostled around a little bit, and we came to that figure as a final resolution,” said John Steren, Ohalete’s attorney, who said one of Portis’ lawyers made the offer.
• After months of practically begging Sean Taylor to report to work, the Washington Redskins are now telling him to stay away.
Taylor’s latest legal trouble, a felony charge of aggravated assault with a firearm in Miami, led the Redskins to issue a statement excusing the safety from the rest of the team’s off-season meetings and practices.
“As an organization, the Redskins believe that it is in Sean’s best interest to focus on his personal and legal issues at this time,” the statement said.
•The Redskins signed wide receiver Kevin Dyson in hopes of returning to the NFL after playing in just one regular season game since the end of the 2002 season.
Judge rescinds arrest warrant for Burress
A district judge in Coraopolis, Pa., has withdrawn an arrest warrant for former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress, after officials determined he never owed $90,000 in back local wage taxes.
The arrest warrant was rescinded Friday, a day after it was issued, Burress’ tax attorney Chuck Potter told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Doss gets community service for gun plea
Indianapolis Colts safety Mike Doss was sentenced to community service in Akron, Ohio, after pleading no contest to gun charges.
He faced a felony weapons charge and three misdemeanor charges after Akron police estimated hearing five to six gunshots outside a local restaurant May 29.
Patriots sign safety Edwards
The New England Patriots signed free-agent safety Antaun Edwards, a six-year NFL veteran who split time between the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams last season.