Washington Football Team head trainer on leave due to criminal investigation

Fans in Landover are likely on cloud nine following the Washington Football Team’s come-from-behind victory over Atlanta on Sunday.

Unfortunately, those celebrations will come to a screeching halt following the latest piece of controversy that’s engulfed the franchise.

According to multiple reports, Washington head trainer Ryan Vermillion was placed on leave for a criminal investigation unrelated to the team.

It’s unclear what charges Vermillion is facing, but reports indicate that agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration raided Washington’s training facility, the INOVA Sports Performance Center in Ashburn, on Friday.

A separate search was conducted at a home in Loudoun County.

Washington head trainer Ryan Vermillion is under criminal investigation.

“Ryan Vermillion has been placed on administrative leave due to an ongoing criminal investigation that is unrelated to the team,” the team said in a statement.

Vermillion didn’t travel with the team to Atlanta last week and his duties have been split amongst the rest of Washington’s training staff. Vermillion is in his second season as the organization’s head athletic trainer.

He held the same title with the Carolina Panthers for the previous 18 seasons. In nine of those seasons, Vermillion worked under former longtime Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Vermillion even won the Fain-Cain Memorial Award for Outstanding NFL Trainer of the Year in 2016, per Bleacher Report.

Vermillion didn’t immediately comment. Whatever mess he’s caught up in, though, sounds serious and it’s hard to imagine this ending well for him.

That’s all the information we have at our disposal at this time. This is obviously a fluid situation and we’ll have more updates as they’re made available.