Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera apologized to Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz after he made comments that sparked heavy criticism, with many saying that Rivera threw Wentz under the bus.
Rivera, who was discussing the the distance between his rebuilding Commanders and their NFC East rivals, said that his comments were misconstrued by some. Rivera also spoke with his team about his comments on Monday.
“Carson and I had a nice conversation, so I think we’re ready to roll,” Rivera said, according to ESPN’s John Keim.
Rivera was asked on Monday why the Commanders were 1-4 in his third season compared with the other teams in the division, who were experiencing more success, to which Rivera answered, “Quarterback”, later adding that the other teams’ quarterbacks had been in place longer than Wentz had in Washington.
Former Washington quarterback Alex Smith ripped Rivera on the Monday Night Football telecast.
“Coach addressed it, handled it, nothing for me that I’m overly concerned about,” Wentz said. “Coach is a very straightforward, upfront guy. He addressed it in the team meeting, which I thought was really cool, in what he meant by it all. I feel very confident in that.”
“I told them I said some things that were misconstrued; I didn’t present them properly. That’s on me,” he said. “I took accountability, told the guys I should know better. S—, I had a bad day so I figured I was feeling better today, let’s move forward.”
“We all assumed that was taken the wrong way,” Commanders backup signal caller Taylor Heinicke said. “He did a good job clearing that up this morning. Carson has broad shoulders; he understands the deal. … It meant a lot to the whole team. For anyone who didn’t know what [Rivera] meant, it was good to hear from him.”
