Ryan Kerrigan took to Instagram this morning to say thank you and goodbye to Washington fans.
"I’ll never be able to sum up what these past 10 years have meant to me in an Instagram post, but what I can say is that they have been some of the best of my life. I hope you had as much fun watching me as I did playing for you. Thank you, Washington, for everything."
It will be a sad day for many; as recently as two seasons ago, the notion that Kerrigan would be able to retire as a Redskin was a popular one. He was and is a good guy -- a hard worker and a leader who was drafted by Washington in the first round of the 2011 draft. Kerrigan was a stalwart of the bugundy & gold defense for a decade, but with the drafting of Montez Sweat and Chase Young back-to-back in 2019 and 2020, Ryan Kerrigan was relegated to a part-time role last season.
That was hard for Kerrigan, but he remained what he always has been -- a great teammate:
"I still want to be making plays, and I know I still can make plays. So yeah, whenever I'm out there, my focus is trying to be a productive member of the team."
Kerrigan etched his name permanently in the record books of the Washington franchise when he broke Dexter Manley's longstanding career sack record with 95 1/2 sacks in his decade-long career here. The four-time pro bowl player seems to be a strong candidate to see his name eventually added to the Washington Ring of Honor.
It will certainly break the hearts of true Washington fans, but Kerrigan is signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
This means that we'll see Kerrigan at FedEx Field again, but not until late in the season. While it will hurt to see the Heartbreak Kid in green and white, Washington fans certainly have nothing but fond memories of his time in DC and good wishes for him for the future -- at least for 15 games per season.