Washington Redskins: Su’a Cravens done for year, or more?

The Washington Redskins placed safety Su’a Cravens on the reserve/left squad list, ending his season.

When second-year safety Su’a Cravens told the Washington Redskins he was retiring two weeks ago, the team was stunned. His teammates were stunned. Fans were apoplectic.

Instead of Washington’s front office reacting angrily, team president Bruce Allen told Cravens not to rush into a decision and gave him a month to figure things out. At the time, the Redskins placed him on the exempt/left squad list, giving them a roster exemption for the first month of the season.

On Monday, things changed when Washington announced it had placed Cravens on the reserve/left squad list, ending his 2017 season before it ever began. And it was absolutely the correct move.

If Cravens was waffling about his future after completing training camp, he wasn’t going to come to a sensible decision in four weeks. So, instead of waiting on him, the Redskins cut it short after two weeks and ended his season. There was no need for the team to be held in limbo by a player who obviously needs some type of help.

What makes this situation even more strange is the report from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on Sunday that Cravens would be reporting to the team on Tuesday to resume his career. It’s important to note, Rapoport is generally incorrect when reporting about the Redskins.

Remember the Cousins trade at the draft? Or what about the three-way trade involving Romo for Cousins? Yeah, it’s almost like someone at Redskins’ Park is pulling Rapoport’s strings:

On Monday, Washington-area reporters asked head coach Jay Gruden about the report and he said he hasn’t talked to Cravens or even heard anything about his status. So, this saga continues getting stranger by the day.

Cravens was seen on the sidelines of his alma mater USC’s game against Texas on Saturday night. Washington executive Doug Williams was spotted speaking with Cravens, which was no surprise considering the Redskins were playing in the same stadium on the following day. It’s tough to say the Redskins knew what Cravens was thinking at this time because he continually changes his mind about — well — everything.

It’s likely the Redskins wanted to resolve this immediately due to contractual issues. Because why couldn’t Washington just wait two more weeks? There’s more to this story.

In the meantime, Allen handled this situation correctly. Give Cravens the rest of the season to figure out, for sure, what he wants in his future. If he wants to retire, fine, he can go. However, if he decides in the offseason he wants to come back it’ll have to be with the Redskins. Washington has him under contract for three more years and that will stand unless the team releases him from his contract. That’s not going to happen.

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The Redskins may not even want him back. In fact, there’s probably a good chance the coaches and players are fine with him not returning. Young safeties DeShazor Everett and Montae Nicholson have shown promise in his absence and the Redskins are content in moving forward with both players.

If Cravens wants to retire, it’s time to officially file his papers. If he doesn’t, he can wait it out until the offseason and speak to the team about returning. He now has several months instead of weeks to figure out if he still loves the game enough to play in the NFL.