Robbins Arrested on Drug Possession Charge

Former NFL offensive lineman Barret Robbins, awaiting trial on three attempted murder charges, was arrested in San Antonio on suspicion of possessing marijuana, police said Sunday.

Robbins, a former Pro Bowl player with Oakland, was detained Saturday night after a bicycle patrol officer noticed the smell of marijuana coming from his car, officer Joe Rios said.

“We had probable cause, and the officer saw a marijuana pipe in plain view on the center console,” Rios said. “He gave no resistance and was very passive, but officers were aware of his violent past.”

In January, Robbins, 31, was shot twice in the chest after allegedly fighting with Miami Beach police responding to a burglary call. Robbins, found hiding in a women’s restroom, was accused of beating one police officer to the floor, slamming another into a wall and ramming a third officer’s head into a wall.

He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted felony murder and other charges. No trial date has been set.

Robbins, who has bipolar disorder, was released from a Florida hospital in April after posting a $51,000 bond. The arrangement sending him to a Houston hospital near his father’s house for physical rehabilitation and bipolar treatment was approved by the judge handling the case.

Robbins was placed in the Bexar County Jail on Sunday on an $800 bond.

Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office, said it was too soon to say how an arrest would affect Robbins’ case in Florida.

“This may have negative ramifications on his pending criminal case in Miami,” Griffith told Associated Press.

Robbins’ well-chronicled troubles began when he disappeared before the Super Bowl in San Diego in 2003, then showed up the night before the game in an incoherent state and was deactivated for the game.

After spending a month in an alcohol rehabilitation center, Robbins lost weight and regained his spot in the Raiders’ starting lineup the following year.

But the Raiders released him last summer after he tested positive for steroids. Before the Miami Beach fight, he was arrested for allegedly hitting a security guard in San Francisco.

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Chicago agreed to a one-year deal with quarterback Jeff Blake, two days after Rex Grossman broke his left ankle in the Bears’ 17-13 exhibition loss against St. Louis.

Grossman, expected to be the starter, was scheduled for surgery today and will be sidelined three to four months.

Chad Hutchinson is now the starter and rookie Kyle Orton the backup. Coach Lovie Smith said that won’t change with the addition of Blake, a former Pro Bowl selection.

“We need three quarterbacks,” Smith said. “Chad isn’t looking over his shoulder. He’s our guy.”

Blake, 34, has appeared in 117 games and passed for 21,656 yards for six teams in 13 seasons. His longest stay was with Cincinnati from 1994 to 1999.

It is the second consecutive year Grossman’s season has been wrecked by an injury. Last year -- his second in the NFL and first as a starter -- he tore a knee ligament in the third game.

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Chad Pennington’s surgically repaired right shoulder will get its first big test of training camp today.

The New York Jet quarterback, recovering from a torn rotator cuff that caused him to sit out minicamp and off-season training, was scheduled to throw in both practice sessions -- the first time since camp began that Pennington will participate in more than one practice.

“He’s feeling more comfortable throwing the ball, and I just want to get him going a little bit more and he wants to do that too, so we’ll see where he’s at,” Coach Herman Edwards said.

The announcement came a day after Edwards said Pennington would continue to throw only once a day.

Pennington watched from the sidelines during the Jets’ 10-3 victory over Detroit on Friday night but said after the game that he was 90% to 95% healthy.

He also said he expects to play in New York’s exhibition game against Minnesota on Friday.

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Oakland may be without punter Shane Lechler when the team travels to Houston this week to take part in a joint practice with the Texans, Coach Norv Turner said.

Lechler was injured early in the second quarter of the Raiders’ 21-13 loss to San Francisco in an exhibition game Saturday when he tried running for a first down after fielding a bad snap.

The fifth-year punter was tripped up by linebacker Saleem Rasheed and fell hard to the turf after a four-yard gain, shy of the first down.

“Shane has a slight hamstring pull and will probably be limited this week,” Turner said.

Lechler led the NFL with a 46.7-yard punting average last year and was a Pro Bowl pick for the second time in five seasons. He holds the NFL record for best career punting average (45.1).

Gary Cook, a rookie from Nevada Las Vegas, will punt in place of Lechler.

Turner also said defensive line coach Sam Clancy would rejoin the team at its training camp in Napa after fainting on the sidelines during the game at San Francisco.

Clancy was taken to a hospital and kept overnight for observation before being released Sunday morning.