Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, Carson Wentz, Jonathan Allen and Terry McLaurin addressed the media after Monday's press conference. Here are some of the quotes from their press conferences.
Ron Rivera
On RB Brian Robinson Jr.:
"I can't get into the specifics of it other than just say he's doing well. We had an opportunity to visit with him last night, which was really a relief and kind of cool because he was in a really good place. The doctors were very positive with him and he was very positive as well. We're very fortunate. He's very fortunate and it's a very unfortunate situation, but he's doing well. It'll be a matter of time before he is back out here. There is no timeline, but as I said, everything's was very positive."
On what it was like to get that call:
"It was hard. I've gotten several phone calls as a head coach, unfortunately, but this one was one of the harder ones. First of all, because he's a heck of a young man. He really is more than just a football player. He is really a heck of a young man. It kind of blindsided me a little bit. We were actually winding the day down when we got the call and then we just followed our team protocol, we know we started connecting with everybody that needed to be connected to. Once we found out where he was, the contingent of us went down to be with him. We had [Team Owners] Mr. and Mrs. [Dan and Tanya] Snyder there. [General Manager] Martin [Mayhew] went down, [Team President] Jason [Wright] was there as well. Dr. Casolaro, Dr. Annunziata, Dr. Roberts, myself and [Running Backs Coach] Randy Jordan. In fact, Randy and I got together and drove down together. A few of the players were able to show up as well. So it was really cool to have a contingency of people there and then his Aunt and Uncle on his mom's side were there. His uncle is a Colonel, stationed here in the Air Force."
On what he said to the team:
"Well, I actually got them together prior to going out on the field. We had a quick meeting and we talked about what had happened and just letting them know Hey, it was a somber day, we expected to be a tough day. So just hang in there and do the best you can as far as practice was concerned. And to be honest with you, I thought they rallied and they practiced pretty dog on good. So I was very pleased with that. They were able to focus and I know their hearts are heavy right now cuz a lot of 'em are still thinking about Brian. But again, I said, we're very fortunate. He's very fortunate and a lot of the news is positive."
On the timeline from when he got the call:
"I got the phone call, I think somewhere around six o'clock. I think it was. I'd actually popped into coach Jordan's office and irony of all ironies, we were actually watching some Brian Robinson tape. When it hit us, I told coach Jordan right away and he took it really hard initially. He just says is he okay? And I said, well, for the most part, it sounds like it. But we weren't sure. I went over to Martin's office and we had a conversation. We got our head of security on Mike Jacob, who was terrific with the whole situation. He was one of the first people that Brian called to let him know what was going on. And then from there, Mike went into action and we connected with everybody on our team that needed to be connected as far as our protocols were concerned and talked with everybody. I mean, you could feel the anger swelling up, but also the concern. The conversations were really about, 'Hey, I hope he's okay.' And you know, there was a lot of worry. I texted Brian because I know he had talked to Mike, so I just texted him and he called me and he called me to let me know he was gonna be okay. That really took a lot off my mind as far as that was concerned. But the biggest concern obviously was just making sure he was okay."
On how he goes about notifying players when an incident like this occurs:
"It happened so quickly, and it was on social media so quickly that I actually got the phone call, I started getting phone calls from the players. And so I just really started telling them, Hey, you guys start sharing with your teammates. I did talk to him. He sounded pretty optimistic and positive, you know, considering his circumstances. And when I did finally get to see him, one of the first things he asked me to do was, and I tweeted it out just so everybody knew that he was doing okay. He asked me to let as many people know that. And so we decided, talking to [Director of Football Communications] Sean [DeBarbieri] and our team of people that me tweeting something out would probably be the best way and the easiest way to get the message out."
Carson Wentz
On his reaction to the RB Brian Robinson news:
"Obviously it's heartbreaking but obviously there's positive news as of late and then how he's doing, but yeah, caught, caught us all off guard yesterday. Obviously on an off day, but, reached out, shot him a text right away, reached out to Coach Rivera right when I heard, and Coach kept me up to date on kind of how he was doing and after he had visited with him and went over there. So yeah, I think it's a wakeup call to everybody just like, you know, this is there's real life problems out there in this world, but thankfully Brian's doing well I'm told and look forward to seeing him."
On how the team handled the situation:
"I think everyone was good. Coach [Ken] Zampese also his father passed away as well so that was announced. Some things obviously internally, we are just praying for our guys, you know, we're a family and, and we want to keep it that way and pray for everybody when they're going through stuff off the field. I thought practice was good. Guys were still up tempo, all that stuff, but yeah, I think everyone definitely feels for Bryan and definitely, again, it is a wakeup call that there's a lot of things in our world that are sad and unfortunate and things wrong in our society. Yeah, we gotta all be smart."
On if the situation put him into a different reality:
"No doubt. It's sobering for sure. You know, you hear that news and it's like, okay, this isn't even football anymore. You know, someone was shot and this is a real life, off the field thing that someone's going through. We're fortunate with how he's doing and again, that's all what I've been hearing but things could have obviously been a lot worse. Yes, it is very real life. It takes you away from football real quick and say these are real life issues that we all that we're all going through and we're not immune to it."
On what has stood out to him about RB Brian Robinson:
"He's a lot of fun. He's a lot of fun to be around. I mean, obviously we see him on the field and how he runs the ball and runs hard but off the field he's high energy. Great dude. It's been fun getting to know him a little bit, opening up, coming out of his shell a little bit right now and it's been fun to see. So, I look forward to seeing him back in here hopefully soon and that big smile on his face I'm sure will come back real quick."
On the emotions RB Brian Robinson may be feeling missing out on his first NFL game:
"Yeah. Again, I don't know kind of overall his state. Again, I haven't spoken directly to him, shot him a text, but I know there's a lot going on in his world. Curious how much of that he's even thinking about quite frankly because when this happens like we just mentioned a lot of football and all that kind of goes kind of to the back burner, I think. I'm sure there's frustration, disappointment, all that, that I'm sure he is feeling. Probably feeling a lot of different emotions but it is unfortunate and we'll see what it means for him long term and all that stuff. I have no idea. Again, I'm excited to see him back in this building hopefully soon and put this behind."
