The Washington Commanders had their first open OTA practice in two weeks, the first time since they released veteran kicker Brandon McManus. News of a lawsuit against McManus, accusing him of sexual assault in an incident that occurred in September while he played for the Jaguars, emerged on Monday, May 27.
The Commanders released a short statement after the news broke. Earlier this week, Washington made the expected move to release McManus.
Here’s Washington’s initial statement on the allegations against McManus:
Earlier today, we were made aware of the civil lawsuit filed on May 24 against Brandon McManus. We take allegations of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter. We have been in communication with the League Office and Brandon’s representation, and will reserve further comment at this time.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn spoke to the media and, no surprise, the McManus was a primary topic of conversation.
“We did release Brandon,” Quinn said Wednesday. “I found out some of the information on May 27th. And then we released him on June 3rd.
LIVE: Coach Quinn speaks to the media before today’s OTA https://t.co/YV0PbXme87
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 5, 2024
No surprise, Quinn didn’t reveal much because it remains an ongoing investigation regarding the allegations against McManus.
However, he did reveal a bit about what he told his team.
“This is under investigation,” Quinn said via Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “So I can’t comment a lot. But what I can say is a little bit about what I told the team. And I think like most things, not necessarily related to this but as a lesson, let’s make sure you always let somebody know and tell. There’s usually a whole bunch of people that want to be part of the solution. And so when you have that, whether that’s for this team or any team or a parent, that kind of communication allows you to come up with some solutions.”
Someone asked about the franchise’s history with similar allegations played a part in Washington releasing McManus and wisely Quinn did not comment.
McManus’ replacement, Ramiz Ahmed, was on the field Wednesday. Quinn didn’t say Ahmed would be Washington’s kicker in 2024, stressing he would be competing for the role. This is not different than anything he has said about every other position: Everyone will be competing. So, it sounds like the Commanders will likely bring in another kicker to compete with Ahmed this summer.