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Washington Redskins inside linebacker Su'a Cravens (30) Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-Imagn Images Derik Hamilton-Imagn Images

Su'a Cravens Responds to Jay Gruden Admitting He Never Wanted Commanders to Draft Him

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Joanne Coley | Last updated Mar 28, 2026 2:00 PM ET

In the NFL, being a “Swiss Army knife” is often seen as a draft-day dream. Just look at Travis Hunter, who can play on both offense and defense. But for former Washington Commanders safety Su’a Cravens, it became the beginning of a football nightmare.

A Bad Fit From the Start

Former Washington head coach Jay Gruden comments on the former USC standout, offering a look at what happens when a franchise’s front office and coaching staff are not aligned, and how, in the end, the player is the one who pays the price.

The problems started before Cravens ever took the field in burgundy and gold. Gruden’s recent admission was blunt: “I didn’t want the guy at all, you know, just because he didn’t fit. He wasn’t a safety; he played outside LB. We didn’t, you know, he’s too little, not because he wasn’t a good kid or a good player, just there’s nowhere to put him,” he said on a recent episode of The John Keim Report podcast.

Derik Hamilton-Imagn Images

Stuck Between Positions

The lack of “fit” was not just about coaching preference. It became an identity crisis. Cravens was drafted as a safety, but once in Washington, he was placed in the linebacker room as an inside linebacker. His rookie year became less about development and more about relearning a game he had already dominated at USC.

At 220 pounds, he was asked to take on NFL double teams one week and chase slot receivers the next. In Cravens’ view, it felt like “spitballing” every week, and it marked the beginning of a downward spiral.

"It felt like I had to relearn the game of football and made me kinda doubt my own ability as a player at times,” Cravens posted on social media in response to Gruden’s comment.

The Sight of Fear

I’d agree … When I was drafted , they told me I’d be playing safety at first, but when I arrived I was thrown into the LB room as a ILB (a position I had never played in my career before) so it felt like I had to relearn the game of football and made me kinda doubt my own… https://t.co/tCK4NbJi7q
— Su’a Kristopher Cravens (@SuaKCravens) March 27, 2026

The hardest part of Cravens’ response is not about missed tackles or schemes. It is what he went through before the 2017 season. A concussion took a serious toll on him, both physically and mentally. He even recalled sitting in Gruden’s office, crying as his vision started to go. “On top of the fact I ALMOST WENT BLIND from a concussion trying to play aggressive while being undersized,” he wrote.

No Hard Feelings

Despite the heavy “what ifs,” including his regret over not staying for his senior year at USC to master one position, Cravens holds a surprising lack of animosity toward Gruden. "And I am in no way offended by Jay’s words. He and I have always kept it 100%, whether he liked it or not and vice versa. It’s a mutual respect on a situation that didn’t work out in the end.”

But even with that respect, Cravens’ is one example of what can happen when a team does not clearly define a player’s role. It can affect more than just what happens on the field.

This article first appeared on Washington Commanders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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