Washington ends Su'a Cravens season a day before he reportedly intended on showing up

Shalise Manza Young
·Columnist

Washington safety Su’a Cravens, a second-round pick just a year ago, may not have officially retired yet, but he won’t be playing in 2017.

On Monday, Washington officially placed Cravens on the reserve/left squad list, which by rule means he cannot play this year.

But get this: according to ProFootballTalk, the team did so knowing that Cravens intended to return on Tuesday. And Cravens may still show up at the team facility on Tuesday.

Messy.

Washington S Su’a Cravens won’t be playing this season after the team surprisingly placed him on the reserve/left squad list. (AP)
Washington S Su’a Cravens won’t be playing this season after the team surprisingly placed him on the reserve/left squad list. (AP)

Citing a source, PFT reports Washington was aware of Cravens’ plan to report on Tuesday, but still decided on Monday to move Cravens from the exempt/left squad list to the reserve/left squad list. The reserve designation means he cannot play this season.

According to PFT, Cravens wasn’t told of the team’s move until after it had already been made.

A statement on the team’s Twitter page read, “Today the Redskins have officially placed Su’a Cravens on the reserve/left squad list. In accordance with the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, Su’a will not be permitted to return to the club for the remainder of the 2017 season, including the postseason. We sincerely hope that Su’a uses this time away from the club to reflect upon whether or not he’d like to resume his career in the National Football League in 2018.”

Which is pretty passive-aggressive.

Under the rules of the exempt/left squad status, Washington was required to send Cravens a “five-day letter,” which informed him that if he didn’t return to the team within five days, he could be placed on the reserve/left squad list.

So even though Cravens was under the impression that Washington was giving him four weeks, once the five days elapsed and he hadn’t returned, Washington was able to make this change.

[Watch on Yahoo: Ravens vs. Jaguars live from London Sept. 24]

Cravens has been away from the team for just two weeks.

The 53rd overall pick in 2016, Cravens played in 11 games as a rookie with three starts, and was penciled in as a full-time starter this year. But earlier this month, there were reports that he was considering retirement at just 22 – surprising but not unheard of given the past few years in the NFL.

Team officials tried to talk him out of the decision, but placed him on the exempt list and gave him a month to “resolve personal issues,” as reported by the Washington Post at the time.

It is possible that Cravens could file a grievance, but as of right now, he cannot play for Washington – or any other team – for the 2017 season.