Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is finally putting it together. Things did not go well with the Washington Commanders, but the cornerback has undoubtedly found a home with the Los Angeles Rams, as his career outlook was fading.
Forbes turned in a starring performance on Sunday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was a lockdown presence, securing five pass breakups and an interception during what quickly became his breakout performance with the national spotlight glaring. This also led some to question whether the Commanders made the right call by cutting him loose so early.
There have been many revisionist historians in recent days. Forbes is coming of age now, but he looked like a lost cause in Washington. His confidence was shattered almost beyond repair, and he just wasn't a good fit for the new regime. And it was clear from very early on that this gamble from the previous head coach, Ron Rivera, was never going to pan out.
NFL analyst still believes Commanders were right to move on from Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
Nick Akridge of Pro Football Focus echoed this sentiment. While the analyst acknowledged how encouraging it is to see Forbes playing so well, the Commanders were absolutely right to move on when things didn't go as initially anticipated.
"How he [Emmanuel Forbes] plays in LA shouldn't change anyone's mind about Washington releasing him. The pick should have been Christian Gonzalez 100 times out of 100, and Forbes would've never worked in [Dan] Quinn's defense. Really cool to see him turn it around, but the new regime did the right thing."Nick Akridge
This is the long and short of it, really. Anyone who suggests otherwise has a cloudy memory about Forbes' time with the Commanders.
Forbes was tasked with responsibilities he wasn't close to being ready for as a rookie. He was physically outmatched with an abysmal tackling technique. He also blew every opportunity given, and Rivera left it way too long before sending him to the fringes.
Couple this with the injury issues denting his progress, and the Commanders didn't have much of an option. Forbes seemed like a lost cause, and nobody could have predicted how much he's thriving in a different environment. And a fresh start, with heightened urgency about his NFL future, has ignited the spark that wasn't evident at any point in Washington.
There is no doubt that Forbes deserves a ton of credit for the way he's bounced back amid significant adversity. That doesn't change the fact that Washington was correct to move on.