Arizona Cardinals Daryl Washington sentenced to a year of supervised probation
Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Daryl Washington (58) during the game against the Houston Texans at University of Phoenix Stadium. Arizona won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Cardinals star linebacker Daryl Washington missed the first four games of the 2013 season with a suspension, and he could face further discipline this upcoming season after he pleaded guilty last month to an aggravated assault charge stemming from an incident last year in May in which he broke his ex-girlfriend’s collarbone. Washington’s sentencing was today, and the official Twitter account of the Maricopa County Superior Court has informed us that the inside linebacker has been sentenced to one year of supervised probation.
It will be interesting to see if Roger Goodell takes further action against Washington after slapping him with a four-game suspension last year. That suspension was a hefty one, but Washington’s actions definitely deserve to be punished heavily. That said, he is an excellent player, so the Cardinals were willing to dole out his $10 million bonus this offseason despite his off-field issues.
Washington is one of the best linebackers in the NFL, and he is even more valuable to the Cardinals defense now that fellow star ILB Karlos Dansby has joined the Cleveland Browns. He recorded 75 tackles with three sacks and an excellent ten passes defended last season, and there’s no doubt that the 27-year-old TCU product is an all-around playmaker who can blitz, stuff the run with relative ease, and break up passes.