Even after a dominant 41-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Redskins safety Ryan Clark wasn’t satisfied. There was no reason to throw a party, he said. No reason to hang balloons around lockers.
Then Clark paused.
“Maybe Brandon [Meriweather’s] locker,” he said, grinning, “because I’m pretty excited that he’s back.”
Meriweather rejoined his teammates at Redskins Park on Monday following his two-game suspension to begin of the season. The NFL suspended Meriweather after he made an illegal hit on Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith in Washington’s third preseason game.
“Coming back, seeing all the guys, seeing all the coaches — man, it’s like a family reunion,” Meriweather said. “It means the world to me to be back with my team.”
Meriweather was suspended for delivering a “forceful blow to the head and neck area of a defenseless receiver,” according to the league’s statement. The 30-year-old unsuccessfully appealed the suspension and declined to speak Monday about the case he presented to the league.
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During his suspension, Meriweather was not allowed to practice with the team or spend time at the team’s facility. He said he spent time with his wife and daughter and worked out to stay in shape.
“I just treated it like it was the offseason,” he said.
In Meriweather’s absence, Bacarri Rambo started both of Washington’s games and struggled. The second-year safety was on the wrong end of a 73-yard touchdown pass in Week 1 and a 63-yard scoring play in Week 2.
The Redskins will make a roster move Tuesday to create a spot for Meriweather, first-year coach Jay Gruden said.
“He’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and fired up to get back on the field,” Gruden said. “It’s an unfortunate incident, what happened to him, missing two games. But he’s raring to go. He’s champing at the bit.”
Clark seemed particularly excited to have his fellow starting safety back. He joked about Meriweather while speaking to the media, then pretended to ask the first question when it was Meriweather’s turn to talk.
“It’s like having a little brother that thinks he can beat you up, so dealing with him is such a headache,” Clark said, smiling. “No, we’re excited to get him back. We are. He’s a big part of this defense, a big part of our plan. He’s the guy that you can move around, you can put him in coverage, you can put him in the box, he can play deep. So it gives [defensive coordinator Jim Haslett] and [defensive backs coach Raheem Morris] a lot of freedom in play-calling and things that we want to do.”
Meriweather has a long history of illegal hits and said he will work to lower his target, “give the NFL what they want and do my job.” He called being away from the Redskins “heartbreaking” and said Sunday’s dominant defensive performance was particularly difficult to watch, knowing he could’ve been a part of it.
“It’s real hard to be a fan,” Meriweather said, “but at the same time, I love these guys. If that’s what it takes for our team to be great, I’ll do it. But it’s hard to be a fan any time you know you should be out there playing.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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