As the Washington Commanders coach, Ron Rivera is well aware of the franchise’s reputation. Over the course of his 30-minute press conference Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, for instance, he was asked repeatedly about the perception that Washington isn’t a desirable destination for big-time stars.
Just consider all that’s happened in the past few months: The Commanders settled for Carson Wentz only after striking out on quarterback Russell Wilson. The NFL launched another investigation into owner Dan Snyder, this time after a former employee accused him of touching her inappropriately. Even the team’s beer sponsor left.
As the questions mounted, Rivera grew increasingly animated: He made clear the criticism bothers him.
“We’re an easy target, I get it,” Rivera said. “But quite honestly, I’m tired of it. I really am. The only way to fix it is to win. That’s the truth.”
Rivera rejected the notion that Washington isn’t capable of landing marquee players, defending what he and his staff have built.
Washington has gone 14-19 under Rivera in two seasons with a playoff appearance coming in the first year at 7-9.
Washington has had a quiet free agency. The team’s splashiest move came via a trade when it acquired Wentz. Other than that, the Commanders have mostly re-signed their own players, such as running back J.D. McKissic and safety Bobby McCain.
The Commanders cleared out more than $20 million in cap space after trading for Wentz, but the only outside free agents the team has signed are guard Andrew Norwell and defensive end Efe Obada.
“How many of those guys did we go after?” Rivera said. “That’s the thing. It’s one thing to have somebody come in and say, ‘There was no way he was going there.’ Do you really know that? Did you ask the guy?
“So let’s stop assuming. Let’s stop hearing stuff secondhand and throwing that out at us.”
The topic of whether big-named quarterbacks would want to play for Washington was a pressing question in the lead up to the team’s acquisition of trading for Wentz — and likely still remains afterward. For example, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson had no-trade clauses in their contracts before being shipped off to Denver and Cleveland — meaning the two had a major say in where they ended up. Would they have been open to Washington?
When Wilson was introduced by the Broncos, the quarterback said if he was going to waive his no-trade clause, it had to be for a winning team. “These guys are winners here,” he said of the Broncos.
Ironically, the Broncos and the Commanders had the same record in 2021: 7-10. In fact, Washington has made the playoffs more recently than Denver — which hasn’t done so since 2015, the year the Broncos won the Super Bowl. But Wilson still chose Denver and the Seattle Times reported that the Broncos were the “only team of those who made offers that Wilson agreed to waive his no-trade cause for.”
The Commanders offered three first-round picks for Wilson. Rivera told The Washington Times that the Seahawks preferred not to trade the quarterback within the NFC.
Rivera has repeatedly mentioned that he views Washington’s rebrand to the Commanders as a fresh start for the franchise. But off-the-field problems still exist — and Rivera has had to sort through them. Beyond the NFL investigation, Congress’ own probe into the league and team continues.
Rivera said he tries to redirect the focus to the field.
“We have a chance basically for a rebirth,” Rivera said. “We have a new name. We’ve got new players we’re trying to bring in and be part of what we’re doing. And if we can stop having that every time be the focal point of football. I get it. … I respect what happened over here and I understand how serious it is, but at the end of the day, my job is about football. And we’re trying to create a sustainable winning culture.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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