Long SI article on Su'a Cravens and the Redskins

[SeanTaylorsaPIMP]

Honestly, this is a must read. Objective reporting in my opinion, although Gruden and Allen among others declined to comment. Seems like both parties could have handled it better. With the history of both Cravens and the Redskins, this comes at no surprise. 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/08/15/sua-cravens-washington-redskins-injury-grievance-trade-denver-broncos

 

It's a real long article but here's some parts that stood out in no coherent order:
 

Quote

 

In the fourth game of his NFL career, Cravens dropped into his area in Cover-3, recognized a checkdown and transitioned downhill. As he tried to make the play on Cleveland’s Isaiah Crowell, the running back’s knee drove square into the emblem on the right side of the rookie’s helmet. Crowell slipped the tackle as Cravens blacked out.

He had two previous concussions in his football career, one in high school and one in college, but never one like this one, where he lost consciousness. He walked off the field on his own, but doesn’t remember doing so. His first memory is being in the training room a few minutes after he’d left the field.

 

Later that season:

Quote

(Hall) He says he told Cravens, “If I can drain this joint to get it done? I’m gonna drain this joint.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, if we make the playoffs, I’ll drain it.’ And we were like, ‘Dog, we need you to MAKE the playoffs.’ ”

Quote

“Everyone in the building heard about it,” Barry says. “They said, Listen, this isn’t a major injury, it’s a bruise, it’s an issue, we can give you a shot to help you with the pain but this shouldn’t be a major deal that you should miss time with. You’re fine. Su’a took offense to that... He got pissed and left.”

Quote

Cravens says he told Williams about his recent diagnosis of post-concussion syndrome. He said that whenever Collins cleared him to return to football, he’d be all-in again. Cravens says he also told Williams that he planned to report Tuesday, the team’s first day back after the Rams game. “I thought everything was squared away,” Cravens says. “Doug told me, ‘I understand, it’s unfortunate that you got this news, but everything is going to work out, we are going to take care of you.’ So from that point on, I’m thinking it’s all good.”

 

Quote

“I was blindsided,” Cravens says. “They were completely aware that I was reporting back and then they put me on the list Monday night before I could get back because they knew I was coming back on Tuesday.”

Quote

“I told him I was ready to report and he says, Report for what? You’re off the team. And then I get escorted out like I broke into the building, like I’m just some regular dude who snuck onto the Redskins' facility.”

Quote

Swearinger says he paid Cravens $75,000 for the No. 36 jersey—a number Swearinger had worn at his three previous NFL stops and at the University of South Carolina, and the number the legendary Sean Taylor donned during his rookie year in Washington—and was incensed when Cravens walked away. “If you are going to charge me for the number, at least play. I need an explanation on that. Why did you do that if you knew you were going to quit?”

 

 

 

 

[MikeT14]

Not that both sides aren't without blame, but we, once again, are a PR nightmare. 

[Doc Draper]

@SeanTaylorsaPIMP  Thanks for posting. Like most bad breakups, fault on both sides. Doug comes out looking great in this story. Drama and dealing poorly with players and former staff -Bruce Allen- is like pancakes and syrup, they always go together. I wish the kid the best of success and if he is successful will wonder why we let it get to this point and let him get away.  And then remember 

[turtle28]

It’s really odd that this story is coming out 6 or 7 months after he was traded.I saw it earlier today and didn’t bother reading it.

I do believe that there was miscommunication/misunderstanding on both sides last year. It seems like Sua was communicating to Doug Williams but Doug wasn’t communicating with Allen or something. It was another PR screw up by Allen. Sua should’ve been on our team last year and could’ve helped us at some ILB, especially when Mason Foster was lost for the year and at S when we lost Nicholson for the year. 

I do appreciate you posting it and going through the trouble to do the quotes and all, but I have little interest in this story anymore.

The Redskins replaced Sua last year when they drafted Nicholson, and in most people’s opinions got an upgrade. They also drafted JHC, Apke and SDH all who look like they will be contributors on this team in the near future and possibly long term. On top of that, none of these 4 players come with the drama of Sua both on the field and off.

I wish Sua the best and always liked him as a player since college, but I don’t think the Redskins are going to miss him one bit. IMO they got better since they moved on from him and cheaper.

[SeanTaylorsaPIMP]

34 minutes ago, turtle28 said:

It’s really odd that this story is coming out 6 or 7 months after he was traded.I saw it earlier today and didn’t bother reading it.

I do appreciate you posting it and going through the trouble to do the quotes and all, but I have little interest in it anymore.

The Redskins replaced Sua last year when they drafted Nicholson, and in most people’s opinions got an upgrade. They also drafted JHC, Apke and SDH all who look like they will be contributors on this team in the near future and possibly long term. On top of that, none of these 4 players come with the drama of Sua both on the field and off.

I wish Sua the best and always liked him as a player since college, but I don’t think the Redskins are going to miss him one bit. IMO they got better since they moved on from him and cheaper.

Yeah, I hear you man. I've moved on from him too. I wasn't even sure if I should post it on this forum since he's no longer on the team but since it's strictly about his time and relationship with the Redskins, I thought it was appropriate. The article to clears up a lot of the murk from last fall. I think we were all angry and upset but above all, confused. This connects a lot of the dots and kind of gave me some closure through the read. 

[MKnight82]

I read the article.  I'm sorry, but when you have multiple people calling you out for being soft and basically abandoning your duties to the team, I find it hard to believe you.  And these people (Doug Williams, Will Compton, and Deangelo Hall) are all well respected leaders of the team.  Everyone has problems, people with character work through those problems.  

I think Su'a Cravens is a me first drama queen.  

Direct quote from the article:

"Every teammate interviewed for this story says that they didn’t notice a difference in Cravens’s personality or behavior after his Week 4 concussion as a rookie. Compton and Hall are both skeptical that post-concussion syndrome is the reason Cravens left the team."

[lavar703]

BS. All you had to do was follow Sua on twitter to see what type of guy he is. He’s covering his own butt at this point and nobody wanted him on the team anymore. Maybe he’ll make something of his career in Denver but he’s no longer a Redskin and I’m 100% on board with that. Just go away. 

[e16bball]

It’s very much in my nature to defend people who are troubled or going through hard times. And I feel bad for Su’a — whatever was going on in his family, it seems like everyone agrees it was serious and pretty awful, and I’m sure it was only exacerbated by the post-concussion syndrome symptoms (if he was suffering from that).

But the Redskins are a business, in a very literal sense and also in a “business of winning football games” sense. They have an employee who they (and his fellow employees) think quit on them when they needed him. Who then apparently was unable to handle issues in his personal life, causing him to become moody and difficult and insubordinate until he eventually quit on the team AGAIN — basically moments after they had finalized a roster with him on it, forcing them to release a player they liked and would have kept if he hadn’t hidden his intentions.

And then, when he found out he wasn’t getting his money for the season, tried to come back and blame it on a concussion he had over a year ago that had been evaluated and dealt with back then. A concussion from which he’d been cleared to return by multiple doctors on multiple occasions. I understand that’s not how Su’a would characterize it, but that’s gotta be how it appeared to the Redskins in all fairness. 

 

As I said, I feel for Su’a. I have no doubt that NFL teams and NFL players are not the most understanding group when it comes to the complexities of mental health and post-concussion symptoms. I guess the Redskins could have been more understanding and sympathetic and forgiving — but honestly I thought they came off surprisingly well in this.

The only part I take real issue with is the article’s insinuation that the Redskins could or should have chosen to put him on IR instead of the left/exempt list, and then he could have gotten paid his salary. Where does  author think that money is coming from? It’s a business. They’re supposed to just willingly donate $700k to the Su’a Cravens Fund so he can quit the team and still cash his checks? That’s not a fair expectation, and trying to make the Redskins look like a bad guy for not choosing to pay Su’a when they didn’t have to isn’t right. 

[Thaiphoon]

6 hours ago, MKnight82 said:

I read the article.  I'm sorry, but when you have multiple people calling you out for being soft and basically abandoning your duties to the team, I find it hard to believe you.  And these people (Doug Williams, Will Compton, and Deangelo Hall) are all well respected leaders of the team.  Everyone has problems, people with character work through those problems.  

I think Su'a Cravens is a me first drama queen.  

Direct quote from the article:

"Every teammate interviewed for this story says that they didn’t notice a difference in Cravens’s personality or behavior after his Week 4 concussion as a rookie. Compton and Hall are both skeptical that post-concussion syndrome is the reason Cravens left the team."

Count me as skeptical as well. 

[Thaiphoon]

15 minutes ago, e16bball said:

It’s very much in my nature to defend people who are troubled or going through hard times. And I feel bad for Su’a — whatever was going on in his family, it seems like everyone agrees it was serious and pretty awful, and I’m sure it was only exacerbated by the post-concussion syndrome symptoms (if he was suffering from that).

But the Redskins are a business, in a very literal sense and also in a “business of winning football games” sense. They have an employee who they (and his fellow employees) think quit on them when they needed him. Who then apparently was unable to handle issues in his personal life, causing him to become moody and difficult and insubordinate until he eventually quit on the team AGAIN — basically moments after they had finalized a roster with him on it, forcing them to release a player they liked and would have kept if he hadn’t hidden his intentions.

And then, when he found out he wasn’t getting his money for the season, tried to come back and blame it on a concussion he had over a year ago that had been evaluated and dealt with back then. A concussion from which he’d been cleared to return by multiple doctors on multiple occasions. I understand that’s not how Su’a would characterize it, but that’s gotta be how it appeared to the Redskins in all fairness. 

 

As I said, I feel for Su’a. I have no doubt that NFL teams and NFL players are not the most understanding group when it comes to the complexities of mental health and post-concussion symptoms. I guess the Redskins could have been more understanding and sympathetic and forgiving — but honestly I thought they came off surprisingly well in this.

The only part I take real issue with is the article’s insinuation that the Redskins could or should have chosen to put him on IR instead of the left/exempt list, and then he could have gotten paid his salary. Where does  author think that money is coming from? It’s a business. They’re supposed to just willingly donate $700k to the Su’a Cravens Fund so he can quit the team and still cash his checks? That’s not a fair expectation, and trying to make the Redskins look like a bad guy for not choosing to pay Su’a when they didn’t have to isn’t right. 

Bingo. Thank you E! This has pretty much been my position since this whole mess started.

[Thaiphoon]

And guys, hes not a Redskin anymore, just FYI

[Slateman]

17 hours ago, turtle28 said:

It’s really odd that this story is coming out 6 or 7 months after he was traded.I saw it earlier today and didn’t bother reading it.

 

It's not. Reporters don't want to burn their credibility with the team, nor give them a reason to limit accessibility. So the reporter is going to wait until the season is over, or in this case, until the player is gone.

Then you have all the research.

 

Suffice to say, this was botched from the start and Cravens had zero interest in playing football for the Redskins.

[MikeT14]

41 minutes ago, Slateman said:

It's not. Reporters don't want to burn their credibility with the team, nor give them a reason to limit accessibility. So the reporter is going to wait until the season is over, or in this case, until the player is gone.

Then you have all the research.

 

Suffice to say, this was botched from the start and Cravens had zero interest in playing football for the Redskins.

Good post. 

[MKnight82]

3 hours ago, Slateman said:

It's not. Reporters don't want to burn their credibility with the team, nor give them a reason to limit accessibility. So the reporter is going to wait until the season is over, or in this case, until the player is gone.

Then you have all the research.

 

Suffice to say, this was botched from the start and Cravens had zero interest in playing football for the Redskins.

What a coincidence, the majority of the locker room had zero interest in Cravens playing for the Redskins too.

[Slateman]

50 minutes ago, MKnight82 said:

What a coincidence, the majority of the locker room had zero interest in Cravens playing for the Redskins too.

Except, weren't there reports that the team was good with him coming back?