Su'a Cravens Reportedly Told Teammates of Intention to Retire, Changed His Mind

Washington safety Su'a Cravens reportedly told teammates he planned to retire from football Saturday before having a change of heart.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news, noting Cravens is expected to miss the start of the season to "address issues." Mike Jones of the Washington Post reported Washington will place Cravens on the non-football exempt list and he will miss "a month, at least."

A 2016 second-round pick, Cravens recorded 34 tackles and one interception during his rookie season. He missed five games because of injury. Albert Breer of The MMQB reported on issues teammates had with Cravens' rehabilitation from a biceps injury, which included his skipping a treatment session.

It's unclear what issues Cravens is having at the moment. He would have been the latest in a series of young retirements across the NFL, most of which were related to long-term injury concerns. Cravens is dealing with a knee injury that's bothered him throughout the preseason. 

There will likely be some blowback on Washington management for talking a player out of retirement rather than allowing him to make his own decision. If Cravens no longer wants to play football—and his transition to the NFL from USC has appeared rough—waiting things out probably isn't going to help matters.