Ron Rivera apologizes to Carson Wentz, team over 'quarterback' comments
Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera made headlines for his comments regarding the team's NFC East standing. During his weekly Monday press conference, Rivera was asked why the Commanders were behind other NFC East teams.
He responded by saying "Quarterback."
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The one-word answer caught a lot of attention. Many fans criticized Rivera's initial response. He also drew questions from former Washington quarterback and current ESPN analyst Alex Smith.
As a result, Rivera apologized to quarterback Carson Wentz and the entire team Tuesday.
"I spoke to my team this morning," Rivera said. "I basically told them that I said some things that were misconstrued. I didn't present it properly, and that's on me."
Rivera also took full accountability regarding the situation.
"So, I took accountability, told the guys that I should know better," Rivera said. "I had a bad day. I figured, you know, I'm feeling better today; let's move forward. So, to me, as far as I'm concerned, it's really now about the most important thing that's getting ready for football."
Later in the press conference, Rivera discussed speaking with Wentz. He mentioned that they had a conversation to clear up the air.
"Very much so," Rivera answered when someone asked if he was worried about the comments becoming a distraction. "And that's why I apologize to the guys. It's been good. The players have been really positive about it, and Carson [Wentz] and I had a nice conversation. So, I think we're ready to roll."
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Rivera deserves credit for acknowledging his mistake. Regardless of how he meant it, the comments came across badly.
In fairness, Rivera has defended Wentz at every turn, so he's believable when he says he meant the comments were in reference to every other NFC East team having a quarterback in place and building around them.
Wentz responded to Rivera's comments as well. The NFL veteran mentioned he was unaware of the comments but appreciated that Rivera addressed the team.
“So, honestly, I had no idea any of that happened until [director of football communications] Sean [DeBarbieri] over here gave me a heads up," Wentz told reporters. "But yeah, Coach (Rivera) addressed it, handled it, nothing for me that I’m overly concerned about. Coach is a very straightforward, upfront guy and he addressed it in the team meeting, which I thought was really cool and what he meant by it all.
"So, I feel very confident in that."
The Commanders are back in action on Thursday against the Chicago Bears. They will head to Soldier Field for the primetime matchup. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Paste BN Sports+ producer Jaylon Thompson contributed to this report.