Per Schefter: Su'a Cravens Considering Retirement

[Burgold]

7 minutes ago, ncr2h said:

I'm assuming the front office has serious doubts about whether he's coming back because he actually wants to play, or if he's showing up because he wants to collect one last paycheck.  If it's the latter, he might do his disappearing act again where he gets a minor injury and then skips rehab / spends a few games playing ping pong in the locker room.  So they took the decision out of his hands.  I think it was probably the right move.

I assume the move was about team morale and eliminating distractions. It's a sharme that that is what Cravens has become, but I suspect it is. 

 

It would send a rough message to a team that is trying to build the message that it is tough, resilient, and never says die to bring him back. Who do you cut for Craven's sake? I think when Gruden indicated he never spoke to Cravens since Sua's decision in today's press conference that said something dire on both their parts.

 

Cravens needed to be talking with the team, his defensive coaches, and his fellow players and show an effort to remain a part of at least the culture of the team if he wanted to come back. He didn't. The team heard that message.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Probably a combination of all that.  Too many reasons not to let him come back.  I'm expecting something whiny and woe is me from Suzy in response.  But here I think the team did the right thing.

[Burgold]

3 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Probably a combination of all that.  Too many reasons not to let him come back.  I'm expecting something whiny and woe is me from Suzy in response.  But here I think the team did the right thing.

Me too. Including the part where they say that they hope he comes back next year (whether or not they mean it).

[DC Lumber Co.]

4 hours ago, Sticksboi05 said:

I applaud a 22 year old for realizing after a hit to the head so bad he had to wear glasses, that maybe he should worry about more important things...

 

Oh my freaking god, the amount of misinformation that gets regurgitated and repeated to the point that it becomes accepted as fact is absolutely absurd. 

 

What makes it even worse is that ive seen multiple posts including my own from people trying to correct it when its posted.

 

It happens all the time but I'm taking such a hard stand on this particular instance because its being cited when people are attacking other posters for being heartless/insensitive about this stuff with Cravens.

 

Player safety is a very serious subject, don't get me wrong. What I will not stand for is a coward getting sympathy from fans when he does not deserve it. Especially if its behind the veil of an issue that IS so serious for the players and families who are in fact effected by CTE.

 

Did he have a concussion last year? Yes. Did it effect his vision/balance while recovering from said concussion? Yeah, thats standard. But did he over-hype the situation by claiming he needed to wear glasses the rest of his life via a social media post that was a pathetic attention-whore outcry for sympathy from his followers? Yes. He wore the damn glasses in the post for Christ's sake.

 

Quote

While Cravens did say this, it's not entirely clear how accurate it is. According to a source who spoke to CSN Mid-Atlantic, there is “zero truth” to Cravens having permanent eye damage.

 

Sure, even if not from this false vision/eyeglasses event, there is still a small chance that his decision was/is related to his concerns for his long term health but I'm not buying it. 

 

All signs point to this simply being another chapter in the saga of an attention-seeking, drama-loving, immature, entitled kid. He has still kept his reasons for leaving the team ambiguous (at least to fans) which I'm sure is no accident. Sure, he doesn't owe anyone an explanation, and its his right to keep the real reason private. His past behavior (including this eyesight bs) lead me to give him no benefit of the doubt on that front however, as I suspect he simply prefers everyone going crazy and speculating on his departure as it leaves more possible scenarios that articles can be written about on the subject. Issuing a statement clearing his name kills future headlines as it ends the speculation. Rather than take responsibility or show that he cares the slightest about his job or his teammates, he'd rather this drama and its resulting 15-minutes of fame tick away as slowly as possible.

 

Speaking of which, the way he left his teammates was the real-world equivalent of leaving a note on your colleagues desks that you know will have to shoulder the additional workload created by your absence, all the while your employer is scrambling to make a replacement hire because you didnt give two weeks notice. How does this not piss more people off? Why are people coddling him without questioning how badly it looks? Few of us would get so much pity if we pulled similar antics at our jobs.

 

Or lets look at his actions AFTER leaving the team...First we have the joke that was the video he posted on his Snapchat the day after the news of his quitting attempt broke:

 

He made sure to let the *haters/doubters* know that he "felt like he didnt need to explain himself". BUT THEN proceeded to say that everyone was about to "get to know who the real Su'a Cravens is very soon". Disgusting. Even more disgusting if anyone is interested in learning who or what that person is. I personally have heard and seen all I need to understand exactly who he really is: A quitter. Times get tough and Su'a Cravens bails, period.

 

*Haters/Doubters* = AKA: some of the same fans who welcomed him with open arms when he got drafted that he quickly discarded for simply questioning/being confused by his decision.

 

Next we have his behavior this past weekend:

 

If you were torn up inside over the decision, or dealing with serious physical/mental ailments, or needed to be with family for reasons they asked you not to make public, why are you fraternizing on the sidelines of your alma-mater?  If you were Jay, Manusky, or his teammates, would that not piss you off and make you lose even more respect for him while you're getting ready for a game in the SAME CITY, the SAME WEEKEND?

 

So glad the team put this to bed today. Smart to make the call now before it became even more of a distraction than it already was. He probably had his agent leak the report of his return to the team, and if he did so with zero communication this whole time to anyone inside the building, the FO absolutely did the right thing. A person dealing with maturity issues wasn't going to learn from this type of a situation in a month anyway. A full year to realize the gravity of his actions might not even be long enough. We'll revisit this in the offseason and the coaching staff better place him at the very bottom of the depth chart if he does decide to return.

 

Good riddance. Have fun using whats left of your celebrity status to chase pornstars and USC freshman around in your latest Yeezy outfit while posting the whole thing on Snapchat that I won't be watching.

 

I'm not too afraid of the politically correct police or the soft-society perpetuators to call a spade a spade.

 

Hail.

[PartyPosse]

Sua is hoping to get into a class action lawsuit in the future so he's laying down the groundwork now.

[Sticksboi05]

1 hour ago, DC Lumber Co. said:

 

Oh my freaking god, the amount of misinformation that gets regurgitated and repeated to the point that it becomes accepted as fact is absolutely absurd.

 

I'm not too afraid of the politically correct police or the soft-society perpetuators to call a spade a spade.

 

Hail.

 

You ignored the second half of my post where I said it was really crappy of him to do this as roster decisions were being made and guys trying to crack the back of the roster were being screwed by his should I stay or should I go nonsense.

 

Regardless of whether or not the eye damage stuff is true, the point is IF he legitimately is retiring because of health concerns, I won't knock anyone for it. But even despite that, he needs to learn his actions affect others, which he clearly hasn't figure out yet. Probably that whole being 22 thing.

[DC Lumber Co.]

2 minutes ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

You ignored the second half of my post where I said it was really crappy of him to do this as roster decisions were being made and guys trying to crack the back of the roster were being screwed by his should I stay or should I go nonsense.

 

Honestly I just used your post as a jumping off point and Im sorry if it felt aimed at you because honestly its not your fault, it was discussed so much in this thread, yours was just most recent.

 

 

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

Some of y'all should be ashamed of yourselves the way you're are acting towards someone making a career choice to leave their current profession.  Regardless of what his reason is for not wanting to continue his NFL career should be no concern of anyone else's but his and the teams.  Regardless of how he handled his "resignation" is really not your concern.  

 

The NFL is a business first for players, coaches/staff and owners, if you think otherwise, I have some beach front property in Iowa I'd love to sell you real cheap.  Plenty of people quit their jobs without any notice daily, or a two week notice, etc.  Plenty of people no longer want to do their current profession and leave others hanging all the time.  It happens EVERYWHERE, including in the NFL.  

 

I sit here and read through all the rubbish about how he let the team down, coaches, teammates, etc.  That literally happens every day in real life, in all jobs/professions.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone get promoted into management only to either quit the company right away or leave shortly after.  It happens, it puts you in a bind, TEMPORARILY until they are replaced.  The NFL is no different.

 

While it's a game for us (don't even try to measure my fandom - I'm die-hard) and we want to see our team succeed, it's still just that, a game.  And for players, it's a business.  Simple as that.  He quit his job.  Some need to seriously grow up and move on.

[Burgold]

6 hours ago, Dont Taze Me Bro said:

Some of y'all should be ashamed of yourselves the way you're are acting towards someone making a career choice to leave their current profession.

You see, I disagree with you. I've been a boss and people have left me in the lurch in the real world. It's crappy. I've been a worker and I stayed in a terrible position despite the stress in order to mentor the next guy and get them ready despite my own problems that made me really want to get out.

 

Su'a has every right to quit. There's a good way and a bad way to do it. There's a responsible and a selfish way to do it. He certainly has the right to look out for number one. He should. That said, there's no reason to screw the company while doing so. When you do that whether you are a teacher, a cop, or even a sandwich maker at Subway, you cause chaos. If you walk out on the job without notice and you have a particular role in the organization and a particular skill set that people count on then you are being a rat.

 

I agree with you that it happens all the time. It shouldn't. There are exceptions. There are family emergencies. There are medical emergencies. There are dire situations that cause you to need to change your life NOW and there's no time to soften the blow or the landing or to think of anyone else. If that's the case here, then Cravens is fine. He certainly has the right to leave the Redskins. There's just a right way and a wrong way to do things in life. He chose a wrong way. He chose a selfish way. He chose an unprofessional way.

 

Even if he's right about leaving and I'll assume he is... how he left was irresponsible.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

How many of us get millions up front and then say "peace! I'm out!"?

 

sure it happens in the real world but the nfl isn't the real world.  

 

If he's interested in giving back his money, prorated based on the games he's played, then good luck with his future endeavors. 

[RandyHolt]

Good luck expecting to get back any of the signing bonus. 

 

I hope he is not getting paid the rest of this year.

[celticsalmon]

First- they whispered to the media about Scot Mc's drinking.  Then their official story was that Kirk refused their historic offer.  Now, Su'a Cravens is the bad guy. Notice a pattern here? Bruce Allen is Machiavellian! His beahvior undermines Gruden and the team!

 

[Burgold]

41 minutes ago, RandyHolt said:

Good luck expecting to get back any of the signing bonus. 

 

I hope he is not getting paid the rest of this year.

I don't know that the team should get back the signing bonus. If the "signing" bonus is for signing the kid signed. He even played a year. I mean sure it worked out rotten. Now, he should not be paid this year or in the future (unless he comes back), but I'm not totally opposed to the signing bonus being swallowed as a "Buyer Beware."

 

Sure, the 'skins get doubly screwed by his retirement, but unless they can prove malice in the signing with Sua never having any intent to fulfill his contract then he earned the signing bonus. Okay, "earned" is going a little too far.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

30 minutes ago, celticsalmon said:

First- they whispered to the media about Scot Mc's drinking.  Then their official story was that Kirk refused their historic offer.  Now, Su'a Cravens is the bad guy. Notice a pattern here? Bruce Allen is Machiavellian! His beahvior undermines Gruden and the team!

 

I actually like this move on its face, with what I know right now.

 

But the first thought that crossed my mind was here we go again another PR snafu that makes the team look bad.  It all depends on what really went down in the meeting with Doug on Saturday night.  But I'm sure we'll never get the real story on that no matter what.

 

In this instance, Su'a is the bad guy.  He ditched his team at the 11th hour and by all accounts it doesn't appear it's some legit mental illness deal.  The kid has been living it up in LA, cheerleading his alma mater.  Perhaps after Doug spoke w/ him he came away thinking this kid only wants to come back for the $, we can't trust him, etc. and opted to pull the plug.  Can't say I blame him. 

5 minutes ago, Burgold said:

I don't know that the team should get back the signing bonus. If the "signing" bonus is for signing the kid signed.

They absolutely should get it back.  I'm not sure the of the legal side, but Cooley made it sound like they can demand he pay them back.  I hope they do.  The kid is a flake and deserves to learn a life lesson about being one.

[Burgold]

6 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

They absolutely should get it back.  I'm not sure the of the legal side, but Cooley made it sound like they can demand he pay them back.  I hope they do.  The kid is a flake and deserves to learn a life lesson about being one.

I'd be for the Redskins getting it back, but I can see an argument against it. The question is what is a signing bonus and how is it earned. If it is literally what the term says, a bonus for signing, well, the kid filled the obligation.

 

In terms of PR, right now, the Redskins are totally the good guys. If they are perceived as going on a vendetta to get the kid for screwing them then the narrative may flip somewhat. I personally think it makes sense for Cravens to return the bonus minus one year's portion. I can imagine how this could become ugly in the courts and in the media. Question is whether the ugliness is worth it.

 

On the other hand, you can also argue that Cravens broke the contract and therefore is in peril.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

I'd imagine it's all tied up right now given the circumstances.  It won't get ugly about the signing bonus until if and when he opts to actually retire.  The way I understand it right now, in everyday people terms, he's on leave without pay and they'll revisit his situation next league year.

[Darrell Green Fan]

I had heard on the radio that before the team did this he was still getting paid.  If this is true that's pretty baffling to me.

 

I also don't understand posters lecturing others on how they should react to all of this. This is our team, we care enough to post regular on a message board dedicated to following the team.   So yeah when a highly regarded player that costs a valuable 2nd round pick walks away like this it's understandable that fans will have a reaction and an opinion.  I don't see anything wrong with that at all.

[HOF44]

29 minutes ago, Burgold said:

I don't know that the team should get back the signing bonus. If the "signing" bonus is for signing the kid signed. He even played a year. I mean sure it worked out rotten. Now, he should not be paid this year or in the future (unless he comes back), but I'm not totally opposed to the signing bonus being swallowed as a "Buyer Beware."

 

Sure, the 'skins get doubly screwed by his retirement, but unless they can prove malice in the signing with Sua never having any intent to fulfill his contract then he earned the signing bonus. Okay, "earned" is going a little too far.

According to the collective bargaining agreement in a situation like this the sigining bonus is pro-rated.  He would owe the Skins 1.2 million back. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

6 minutes ago, Darrell Green Fan said:

I also don't understand posters lecturing others on how they should react to all of this.

Some folks love to giddy up on the high horse.  It's one thing if Su'a has legit mental health issues, family problems, etc.  Given the teams move yesterday, I venture a guess that's not the case.  I keep hearing the "he's 22 years old" stuff as if we don't have a lot of early 20's players on rosters year in and year out.  There are also a lot of players in their early 20's that work hard and weren't born with the same talent as Su'a that would give anything to be in his shoes. 

[Renegade7]

That was a bold move by the team to tell him he can't play until next year, but I think he's done and the team knows it.  Everyone here has every right to be pissed, just wasted a second round pick, and first round pick is borderline useless as well.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The notion that a millionaire athlete is somehow screwing his millionaire teammates and a billion dollar franchise is odd to me.  

 

Let's first remember who Su'a Cravens was. He was a project.  He wasn't a game changer.  He had a few nice moments last year, most notably the pick against Giants but other than that I can't think that he was a force to be reckoned with on defense.  

 

Can we stop acting like this is a hole that can't be replaced like he was Sean Taylor?  He wasn't an All-pro safety who was a straight up beast for us from Day 1.  Far from it, in fact.  

 

So really....can we agree that he wasn't a game changer for us?  Can we?  Please?  Because I'd like to think that you guys live in reality, and the reality of the situation is that he's replaceable.  Probably pretty easily.

 

Now that we've removed emotion from the situation....

 

As many have mentioned, the NFL is a business.  I'm willing to bet that those guys in the locker room get it, save maybe the rookies who are on their first go-round.  While I'm sure some of his teammates were initially disappointed, I'm also willing to bet that not a single one of them is giving a steaming hot cup of **** that he's gone, based off my first point.  You think Josh Norman is lamenting Su'a Cravens?  You think Kerrigan is staying up at night worried about how the defense will perform because Cravens isn't on the field?

 

Will the defense suffer as a unit because Deshazor Everett is back there instead of Cravens?  I have to think that there's not much of a difference between the two.  I don't know much about Deshazor but even if they're of equal skill I'm assuming that he doesn't have the mental issues that Cravens has which probably makes him better overall.

 

Yes, I said mental issues.  It wouldn't surprise me if Cravens is struggling with depression.  

 

In two weeks from now this won't be an issue, it won't even be mentioned (unless, somehow this turns into some big drama where Cravens tries to fight his way back on the team).  In two weeks from now we'll be talking about the game we just had and the opponent to follow.  I guarantee there won't be any post ANYWHERE on ES that says "Well, we could have beat the Chiefs if Su'a Cravens was back there..."  He's gone like a fart in the wind, which is about the same length of time that our collective attention span can last for.

 

Lastly, many of you are whining about a draft pick wasted, which is probably the best point made here, and hardest to disagree with.  But when you realize the career of an average NFL player is pretty short and millions have been wasted on higher picks over the years,  this still remains a drop in the bucket.  And Cravens wasn't even average NFL talent, arguably.    

 

This isn't a big deal.  At.  All.  We're just sports fans and the NFL is like a soap opera.  This is a small time character being written off.  

 

 

[Riggo'sRangers]

Montae's going to be better anyway.  Good pick/bad pick.  They offset one another.  Good enough for me.  Let's play ball.  Good luck in your future endeavors Su'a, and I really mean that.  Hail

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

36 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

The notion that a millionaire athlete is somehow screwing his millionaire teammates and a billion dollar franchise is odd to me.  

 

Let's first remember who Su'a Cravens was. He was a project.  He wasn't a game changer.  He had a few nice moments last year, most notably the pick against Giants but other than that I can't think that he was a force to be reckoned with on defense.  

 

Can we stop acting like this is a hole that can't be replaced like he was Sean Taylor?  He wasn't an All-pro safety who was a straight up beast for us from Day 1.  Far from it, in fact.  

 

 

 

I'm not sure anyone is under the impression he was going to be the next great safety.  A lot of us felt he was handed the gig undeservingly but also due to lack of options.  But at the end of the day he was our 2nd round pick just last season and had potential, at least from a talent standpoint.  I wasn't expecting much this season other than an attempt to grow into the position.  Pretty much everything about the kid up to this point screamed immature at minimum, but we've put up with more from lesser players.  I do agree with you that this will be old news very soon and I think that's what will probably kill this kid the most.

[Reaper Skins]

51 minutes ago, Riggo'sRangers said:

Montae's going to be better anyway.  Good pick/bad pick.  They offset one another.  Good enough for me.  Let's play ball.  Good luck in your future endeavors Su'a, and I really mean that.  Hail

                        

                     Even           Steven 

[LetThePointsSoar]

3 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

 I do agree with you that this will be old news very soon and I think that's what will probably kill this kid the most.

 

Very ready for it to BE old news.