Washington Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes got ejected in the first quarter of the team’s 29-26 Week 10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks for a headshot on wide receiver Tyler Lockett. Ahead of the Commanders’ Week 11 matchup with the New York Giants, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio raised several objections to the dismissal, although none were that Forbes didn’t deliver an illegal headshot.
“The penalty I understood. It was deserving of a penalty,” Del Rio told reporters, per Washington Post Commanders beat writer Nicki Jhabvala. “But the ejection for a first-time offense on play six or whatever it was of the game, that was shocking. And the fact that he wasn’t ejected by the officials on the field, he was ejected by somebody in an air-conditioned room in New York, that’s troubling.
Del Rio also cited the fact that Forbes is not a “head-hunting” player as a reason he shouldn’t have received the ejection.
Watching the video above, Emmanuel Forbes clearly hits Tyler Lockett high while the receiver is in a defenseless position. It is deserving of a penalty, as Jack Del Rio admitted, and because Forbes led with the crown of his helmet and hit Lockett with violence, there should be no problems with the ejection.
Del Rio protesting this hit illustrates a larger issue in the NFL, which is that until grizzled football lifers like Del Rio accept the fact that the league needs to do everything in its power to get these hits out of the game, the sport they love will be in trouble.
Forbes was not suspended after the Week 10 hit vs the Seahawks, so he will be available for the Commanders' Week 11 matchup with the Giants.