Zac Boyer will be entering his third season covering the Washington Redskins for The Free Lance-Star this fall. Make sure to follow Zac on Twitter (@ZacBoyer) for the latest updates or e-mail him with any questions at zboyer@freelancestar.com.
Sean Locklear Criticizes Redskins’ Exit Meetings Day After Season Ends
By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer
(Originally posted 1/2/12, 2:06 p.m.; updated 1/2/12, 2:31 p.m., 1/2/12, 4:02 p.m.)
ASHBURN – The Washington Redskins cleaned out their lockers at Redskins Park on Monday, a day after a 34-10 loss ended the season at Philadelphia with a 5-11 record, and listened to a presentation made by three Navy SEALs and a Marine about honor and sacrifice.
Locklear
That’s all the players did, according to offensive tackle Sean Locklear, who took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with the process Monday afternoon.
“Worst exit meeting ever!” Locklear wrote. “No coaches, no front office, just physical’s and goodbye to teammates! We did just spend 5 [months] together, WOW!”
Just after a half hour later, Locklear deleted the Tweet, writing, “Whoa, I apologize Redskins nation, didn’t mean to cause any stir! Gotta keep feelings out it! #Business.”
Head coach Mike Shanahan said he told the players after the loss to Philadelphia that he wouldn’t have any formal exit meeting with them Monday. Instead, he’d meet with players individually – some by his request, some by theirs.
“I talked to Sean after the game, and obviously, he must not have liked my speech,” Shanahan said. “He must have been disappointed in it. But I’ve only been doing it that way for a number of years, and he must be used to a different way. I apologize, Sean. It will never happen again … at least not with me.”
Several players did say that by late Monday morning, they hadn’t spoken with any of the coaches. A few voluntarily went to meet with position coaches, but outside of taking physicals, nothing else was planned. Quarterbacks did watch film of the loss, as they typically do on Monday.
Quarterback Rex Grossman was asked about his meeting with Shanahan on Monday, but not only did he say he hadn’t spoken with the head coach, he didn’t know if or when he would.
“I’ll go through the process if I run into him and talk to him,” Grossman said. “We’ll have a good conversation. If not, I’m sure we’ll be in touch somehow.”
Locklear, 30, was in his first season with the Redskins after spending the last seven in Seattle. He signed a one-year, $810,000 contract on Aug. 6 and played in nine games, starting four.
His locker was one of three completely empty when the players returned from the presentation around 10:50 a.m. Several players packed their things in advance, grabbed their bags and left; others had no urgency in doing so as they either live in the area or plan to be around for some time.
Defensive end Adam Carriker was among those who couldn’t wait to leave. He built a home outside of Denver that was finished last summer, and a day after moving in, the lockout ended.
But he found value in the military presentation, especially as one of the Navy SEALs, he said, identified himself as a former NFL player.
“It was actually kind of cool,” Carriker said. “I respect those guys a lot. I think he said it best when it comes to football and the SEALs – we’re both competitive [and] we’re both really good at what we do. The difference is, we mess up, we lose the game. They mess up, somebody gets hurt. To me, I have the ultimate respect for them.”
