Tag: Nick Sundberg

Former Washington long snapper Nick Sundberg said Ron Rivera ‘lied’ to him

Washington’s longtime former snapper is not a fan of Ron Rivera.

The Ron Rivera era in Washington will soon be coming to an end. At 26-37-1 in four seasons as head coach, Rivera is expected to finish the season before new owner Josh Harris moves in another direction.

There is at least one former Washington player who will be happy to see Rivera go.

Nick Sundberg was Washington’s long snapper for 11 seasons, from 2010-20, with his final season overlapping Rivera’s first season in Washington. One of the NFL’s best and most reliable long snappers for a decade, Rivera unceremoniously moved on from Sundberg in the 2021 offseason.

As a guest on “Grant and Danny” on 106.7 The Fan this week, Sundberg explained that he was supposed to be in Washington for longer, but Rivera lied to his face.

“Yeah, but I mean, hopefully, I’ll be able to root for the team again in a few weeks,” Sundberg said when asked if it was difficult to see what the 4-10 Commanders have become via Lou DiPietro of Audacy.

“It’s tough to watch Ron, man. I don’t like him, clearly………I mean, if I got cut in January or just told I wasn’t being brought back in January, but three days before free agency starts is a little frustrating. That aggravated me quite a bit. I could have been rehabbing in Phoenix this whole time, but I was there trying to do what was right for the team and all that sort of thing, and they were and constantly like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get it (a contract) done, we’ll talk to your agent,’ just lying to your face type of stuff. So that is annoying.”

Sundberg holds no ill will toward Camaron Cheeseman, who the Commanders drafted to replace him in 2021 and released this week after struggling all season.

Remember, Rivera isn’t just Washington’s head coach; he’s also the head of all football operations. Since assuming that role in 2020, Rivera has made one bad decision after another. Whether it’s bungling the quarterback position, bad free-agent signings, or getting little from his draft classes, Rivera’s time as a GM has been a disaster.

Then, there is the story of Cheeseman. The Commanders moved up into the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft to select Cheeseman. Not only do NFL teams not draft long snappers, they certainly do not trade up for them.

As for Sundberg, there was talk of an injury, but Rivera didn’t see that as a problem when he initially told Sundberg the two sides would get a contract done. And this isn’t a case of Sundberg being out to get Rivera. Sundberg was a beloved member of Washington’s organization and the local DMV community. He was Washington’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee on two separate occasions.

Sundberg will be rooting for the Commanders again:

“Hopefully soon, sooner rather than later,” he said.

 

Nick Sundberg’s career as Washington’s long-snapper is over

For the first time since 2010, Washington’s long-snapper will not be veteran Nick Sundberg after the team announced they won’t re-sign him.

One of the several free agents that Washington had to decide whether or not they wanted to bring back to the team this offseason was veteran long-snapper Nick Sundberg, someone who has been on the roster since 2010.

On Wednesday morning, Sundberg was informed that he wasn’t coming back to the team.

“Unfortunately Coach informed me that I’m not in the plans moving forward,” Sundberg wrote on Twitter. “I understand this is a business but I’m still sad to close this long chapter with the Washington football team. I look forward to the next opportunity in my career, wherever that may be. See you on Sundays.”

Through his time with the program, Sundberg played in a total of 152 games and became a staple of the special teams unit. We wish him the best of luck in his next destination.

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Nick Sundberg posts update on successful surgery for tricep tendon repair

Nick Sundberg, who is set to become a free agent this spring, posted an update on some elbow surgery that he underwent this offseason.

It wasn’t public knowledge until after the deed was done, but Washington veteran long snapper Nick Sundberg underwent successful surgery on his elbow this offseason, posting images of the laceration on his Instagram story.

According to NBC Sports Washington’s Pete Hailey, the surgery was to repair a tricep tendon, and he still has a few months of recovery before he can get back into the action.

Sundberg is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but it would come as no surprise to hear that Washington eventually brings him back on a new contract. The 33-year-old has played for 11 seasons in the NFL, all of which have come with Washington.

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Nick Sundberg hopes Redskins can ‘earn back’ ping-pong table in the future

Ron Rivera’s first move as head coach was removing the ping pong table from the locker room, which left a select few players with less to do

While the Washington Redskins newest coach, Ron Rivera, has been highly active in his first week with the team when it comes to filling out his coaching staff, he also made a statement in the early days of his tenure by removing the ping pong table from the Redskins’ locker room.

The table, which many of the players used to blow off steam in between meetings or practices, was removed so that the team would be able to further eliminate distractions and focus more on football. While this is probably a good thing for many of the players on the roster, there are a few — mainly the special teams players — who might now be looking for a new way to pass the time.

“That was kind of our time-passer, that sort of thing,” long snapper Nick Sundberg said, via NBC Sports Washington. “We used it to compete with each other and try to get better; me and Hop would always try to beat Tress because he’s so dang good. But I can’t argue with Coach Rivera. I think if that’s something that he thinks is going to make a difference, then I’m on board, 100 percent. I’m hoping maybe someday we can earn it back.”

It’s possible that the team will start to show improvement now that fun and games are eliminated from the locker room; it’s also possible that the ping pong table was never really the issue in the first place. Still, it makes sense that Rivera had to make a culture change on his first day with the team, and the ping pong table was the easy choice. Now the special teams players will have to find something else to do in their downtime.

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