Any fan of the Washington Redskins knows that DE Ryan Kerrigan is one of the best players that has ever come through D.C., and he will stand as a legendary Redskin when his career is said and done. However, outside of the Washington circle, you’d be hard-pressed to even find a fair-weather fan who is aware of his existence, or tell you what position he plays.
When looking at his stats, that’s just insane. Since being drafted by the Redskins in 2011 — the same year as Von Miller, and Cam Newton — Kerrigan has totaled 90 sacks in 140 games, and he went the first 139 games of his career without missing a start. Yet, he is rarely mentioned in the same air as the fellow members of the 2011 class.
To help highlight the incredible impact that Kerrigan has had in his career, one analyst at NFL Network recently named him as his most unsung hero in the NFL.
“He’s been in the league since 2011, and he’s sitting behind Von Miller, JJ Watt, and Chandler Jones in sacks,” NFL Network’s Nate Burleson said. “Just think about that type of production, my dude is averaging like 10 sacks per season. All we do is see him flexing after making play after play, year after year. Yet, he’s only gone to two playoff games, he hasn’t won a playoff game — he’s just one of those individuals who will put up stats, but he doesn’t get the love that he deserves.”
Unfortunately for Kerrigan, he may not get much of that love going forward, either, as the Redskins have added the most exciting young player to their roster in Chase Young, a player who could potentially bump Kerrigan from the starting lineup.
Nonetheless, fans in Washington know exactly what Ryan means to the team, and they will never let him forget how much he is loved with the Redskins.
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