Deshazor Everett wishes he could take back the "split second" of when he knocked Darren Sproles out of Sunday's game.
But ...
"It’s too late," the Redskins' safety said to reporters Monday, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. "You can’t take it back. You can’t rewind. It’s not a video game. You make choices out there on the field, and you’ve just got to live with it. Unfortunately, it was a bad hit."
A hit that had the Eagles incensed during and after the Eagles' 27-22 loss to Washington at Lincoln Financial Field.
Everett clobbered Sproles in the fourth quarter as the third-year Eagle was about to receive a punt. Problem was, Everett nailed Sproles before the ball even reached the punt returner.
“I thought it was BS,” Zach Ertz said postgame Sunday. “Darren didn’t even have the ball and the guy tried to take his head off. He tried to take Brent’s head off and knocked him out of the game too. I don’t know who that guy is, but I thought it was BS.”
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Everett, a 24-year-old in his second NFL season, faced the music Monday. He explained his view on the play and reiterated what he said Sunday, that his intent was not to injure Sproles, who suffered a concussion.
“I mean, I have the utmost respect for the guy," Everett said. "He’s been in the league for a long time. He’s one of the best punt returners in the league. When we game plan for him — we play them twice a year, this is my second year game planning — coaches say we’ve got to get this guy stopped, he’s super quick. As you see he broke one for a touchdown; luckily we got a block in the back call. As you’re playing someone like that, you don’t have time to think, ‘Oh, let me brake down,’ because you’re going to miss him in the open field. That’s why I just took my shot, and unfortunately it was too early.”
Everett said he plans to contact Sproles to tell him "it was nothing personal."
"I wasn’t trying to take anyone out of the game, no malicious intent behind the hit," he said. "People are gonna see it how they see it, but I know in my heart that I wasn’t trying to take the guy out of the game. If he would have caught the ball and I miss the tackle, then I’m laughed at and on ESPN. Since I hit him too early and he’s out of the game, now I’m the bad guy.
“You’ve got to just take your shots when you get an opportunity. When you’re in the middle of playing the game, you’re just playing full speed, you’re just trying to get the job done.”
