Su’a Cravens won't play in 2017 and Washington doesn't seem very happy about it

Washington tells him he needs to 'reflect' on whether he wants to play ever again.

Su’a Cravens was mulling retirement a couple of weeks ago, but Washington talked him out of it. Things have apparently changed. The team released a statement on Monday to say that Cravens has been placed on Washington’s reserve/left squad list.

Washington’s statement on the roster move had an interesting final sentence.

“We sincerely hope that Su’a uses this time away from the club to reflect upon whether or not he’d like to resume his career in the National Football League in 2018,” the statement reads.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that Cravens had been in touch with head coach Jay Gruden and that Cravens planned to report back to Washington this week, likely on Tuesday. But the Washington Post’s Master Tesfatsion reported that Gruden had not “heard anything from or about Su’a.”

And that’s not all. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says that the team knew Cravens was planning to report, and it’s possible Cravens will still show up at Washington’s facility on Tuesday.

The team initially put Cravens on the exempt/left squad list to give him time to decide what he wanted to do about his future, and he was expected to miss about a month of playing time. Placing him on the reserve/left squad list does free up a roster spot for Washington, but it still retains the rights to Cravens.

Deshazor Everett has taken over Cravens’ spot on the depth chart. Everett has 10 tackles over Washington’s first two games.

Cravens cannot return to the team or participate in any team activities for the rest of the season. The 22-year-old safety has been rehabbing a knee that required minor offseason surgery to clean up some meniscus damage, but he had been medically cleared to play in Week 1.

Injuries also held him back in his rookie season. Cravens suffered a concussion and a torn bicep, and he reportedly began to consider retirement at that time.

Cravens was drafted by Washington in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft. He started three games in his rookie season, contributing 34 tackles, one sack, and one pick.