Roberts’ family reported that someone entered the Bay Area residence and Roberts was shot in the backyard.
Roberts family said he was not “mixed up in anything bad” and didn’t know anyone who wanted to harm him.
According to The Mercury News, no suspect had been named nor was anyone in custody as of 7:30 a.m. local time Thursday.
Roberts was signed by the Bengals in May 2003 after going undrafted out of Oregon State. He played for the team for two seasons before he was released in 2005.
By later Thursday morning, former teammates were paying tribute to Roberts.
Current Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith, who was a college teammate of Roberts in Corvallis, said he was “crushed.”
