Ryan Kerrigan was so consumed by football that it constantly affected his diet.
To the dismay of his wife, Jessica, Kerrigan would stress over what to eat even on Friday nights well into the offseason and far away from Week 1. How will this breakfast help me? was a question he frequently asked himself before eating his first meal of the day.
Thus, Kerrigan is relieved to be free of such rigidity now that his NFL career is over.
In a press conference honouring the Washington football legend’s retirement on Saturday morning, Kerrigan said, “If I want a beer, I’ll have a beer.”
Kerrigan played professionally for 11 seasons, the first 10 of which were spent with Washington. He claimed that despite doctors’ advice to retire in the spring of 2021 due to concerns about the condition of his left knee, he wasn’t “emotionally ready” to do so.
The pass rusher decided to suit up for one final season, which ended up being with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he was aware that it was his last while playing there.
Despite his confidence in his choice—”It’s hard to walk away even though I know it’s the right thing,” Kerrigan acknowledged—he recently received confirmation that he made the right choice.
Highlights like Eli Manning’s pick-6 in his 2011 debut against the Giants, beating the Cowboys in the final game of 2012 to clinch the NFC East, and a strip-sack of Dallas’ Dak Prescott in 2018 that resulted in a Preston Smith touchdown were among Kerrigan’s favourite memories as he looked back on them.
He sounded more moved, though, after visiting the franchise’s Ashburn headquarters on Friday, where his retirement was formally announced. He developed many close friendships there with his teammates, the coaching staff, the office staff, the cooks, and others.
There are no longer any players who will be referred to as Redskins now that he has entered a new phase, one that may involve coaching and will undoubtedly include lots of family activities for the father of three active children. While Kerrigan accepts the organization’s new moniker, he also takes pride in the unique position he holds among the club’s ardent supporters.
