Washington Commanders' Jack Del Rio Says CB Emmanuel Forbes Ejection 'Not a Good Look' for NFL
On the sixth official play of the game, the Washington Commanders' defense was on the field against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10 they were dealt a blow, but it didn't come on the scoreboard.
Rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes laid a hit on Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett on a 2nd-and-14 play that drew a penalty for a blow to the head of a defenseless player and an ejection for the Commanders defender.
Immediately, many were sharing opinions on the call with most believing Washington deserved the penalty, but Forbes didn't deserve to be removed from the game.
Including Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
"The penalty I understood, it was deserving of a penalty," Del Rio said. "The ejection, for a first-time offense on play six - or whatever it was - of the game, that was shocking. And the fact that he wasn't ejected by the officials on the field, he was ejected by somebody sitting in an air-conditioned room in New York, and that's troubling. I think that's troubling for the league. They're going to have to work that out. But that's not a good look. I don't think that's healthy for the league to have those types of things happen. Emmanuel, young player - good player, he's not a guy that's like notoriously known for headhunting people and stuff like that. So I did not think it was warranted."
To Del Rio's point it wasn't the officials on the ground at Lumen Field in Seattle that decided to eject Forbes, but someone in the NFL's league office in New York.
A decision that was later explained by NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson.
"It was certainly not a bang-bang-type play where you have both the defender and receiver just playing for the ball," Anderson said to PFWA Pool Reporter Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. "We're also looking at is the defender making the attempt to play the ball or is he making no attempt to separate the ball from the player -- in terms of going straight for the head? And in this case, it was the latter where he just went straight to the head and that's why it rose to the level of disqualification."
Whether anyone agrees or not Forbes told reporters this week he'll be playing with the same intensity and effort he always does, with a focus on helping his team win.
Given Del Rio's reaction, we wouldn't expect to find out the coach is telling him to do anything but.
However, as aggressive as the coach and player want to be, there certainly has to be an emphasis on staying on the field for more than half a dozen plays this weekend against the New York Giants.
