Trent Williams and Fred Davis address the team
Wednesday - 12/7/2011, 6:56pm ET
Gathering as a team for the first time since the news became official, the Redskins heard from Trent Williams and Fred Davis today in a team meeting. They both stood up and apologized for their actions.
“They feel bad about it and they’re remorseful. They know they made a mistake and have to pay some pretty harsh consquences for it, ” Rex Grossman said of his teammates.
“Just to hear from those guys, address the team was a good sign. They want us to understand, but it’s difficult not having those guys out there for the wrong reasons, says DeAngelo Hall. “It’s a tough pill to swallow, you want to have those guys on the field, but because of choices they made, we aren’t going to have them.”
Mike Shanahan was able to speak on the situation for the first time as well,
“I’m disappointed in their decision to do what they did.”
Shanahan said he did not ask them to speak to the team, but the players came to him and asked. The coach agreed,
“I think that’s what a person with responsibility would do especially when you let down your teammates when you get suspended for the rest of the season. Everybody’s accountable. Everybody’s got a job to do. When you can’t fulfill your obligation, obviously it’s a big disappointment.”
This comes at a time when Mike Shanahan is trying to change the culture and preaches about having character guys in that locker room. Trent Williams was the fourth overall pick two years ago and supposed to be a cornerstone on the offensive line. Can you trust a guy after an incident like this? Keep in mind, one more positive test and they are suspended for a year. Is that the kind of character you are looking for?
Fred Davis overslept during the first week of his rookie training camp. He was finally beginning to get past that while having a career year taking over for Chris Cooley. He finishes with 59 receptions for 796 yards and three touchdowns. Oh, and he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Talk about bad timing. Trent Williams is under contract through 2015.
The Redskins will have to decide what direction they will go with Fred Davis. Can Mike Shanahan afford not to re-sign one of his best offensive weapons? Will the play on the field outweigh what has happened this season? It should be another interesting off season in Ashburn.
Don’t worry, there are still four weeks left in this season for something else to go wrong. If it could go wrong, it has this season.
I thought the drama was supposed to leave the building with Albert Haynesworth and Donovan McNabb.
