It was another tragic day for the Washington Football Team Wednesday when the brother of defensive end Montez Sweat was tragically killed in Henrico, Virginia. Anthony Sweat, 27, was the older brother of Sweat.
Sweat was excused from practice to be with his family.
Just last week, safety Deshazor Everett was involved in a fatal car crash.
It’s a difficult time that many outside of Washington’s organization can’t possibly comprehend. Those outside see Washington’s three-game losing streak and make judgments only based on what’s happening on the field.
While part of that is fair, it doesn’t tell the entire story. People see Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne getting into a sideline altercation in the middle of a blowout loss on national television and think Ron Rivera has lost control of his team. That’s not the case. Not even close.
On Wednesday, wide receiver and team captain Terry McLaurin spoke to the media and summed up what his team is going through at the moment.
“You don’t really know what guys are going through on a personal level outside of this building, and when you see things with [Everett] and Montez, we’re all human and are going through things that are much bigger than football,” McLaurin said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “Then you take into account the challenges that we have in this building and the expectations, and it can be a lot.”
McLaurin made it known he wasn’t making excuses for Washington’s recent struggles on the field.
I don’t think any of us use that as a crutch or an excuse because we know what comes with being a professional football player and the expectations that come with it. But it still does affect you, and you try to just compartmentalize the best you can. … We’re trying to support our brothers that aren’t here, praying for them, thinking about them, but we still have to try to gather ourselves and make something of the rest of these last two games.
Washington is no stranger to adversity. Last season, the team made the playoffs during a year in which head coach Ron Rivera battled cancer.
Washington has dealt with a lot in 2021, such as season-ending injuries to players such as Chase Young, Logan Thomas, Chase Roullier and J.D. McKissic, while also dealing with a widespread COVID-19 outbreak. But what Washington is going through now is much bigger than football.
And, as McLaurin said, Washington must band together to play a football game on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.