The Washington Football Team said Monday that Ryan Vermillion, its head athletic trainer and director of sports medicine, was placed on administrative leave “due to an ongoing criminal investigation that is unrelated to the team.”
The announcement came after the team’s headquarters in Ashburn, Va., was searched by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Vermillion’s home in Loudoun County also was searched, according to that person. The subject of the investigation is not yet clear.
An NFL spokesperson said the team informed the league of the matter, and a spokesperson for the NFL Players Association said it is monitoring the situation.
Vermillion spent 18 seasons as the head athletic trainer for the Carolina Panthers, including nine with Ron Rivera, who was head coach of the team from 2011 to 2019. When Rivera was hired as Washington’s head coach in January 2020, he brought Vermillion with him to develop and lead a revamped training staff.
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Owner Daniel Snyder said in a statement after Vermillion’s hire that he is “one of the most respected and seasoned head athletic trainers in the NFL” and that his experience and time with Rivera made him “a perfect fit” for Washington.
In a video conference call with reporters Monday, Rivera said he didn’t have anything to say beyond the statement the team released about Vermillion and the investigation. When asked what it was like for him to hear the news, given his lengthy relationship with Vermillion, Rivera said: “Well, I’m not going to comment [on] how I personally feel about what’s going on. That would go beyond what I need to say.”
In a later interview with NBC Sports Washington, which first reported the news of Vermillion being placed on leave, Rivera gave a more detailed answer. “The only thing I can say about Ryan is I know who Ryan is and last year I trusted Ryan with my health and I would do it again,” said Rivera, who was diagnosed with and treated for squamous cell carcinoma in 2020.
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Vermillion did not travel with the team for Sunday’s win at the Atlanta Falcons, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
For the past two seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic, Vermillion also has served as the team’s infection control officer, tasked with managing health and safety protocols related to covid-19. Before this season, his title was changed to include director of sports medicine, in addition to head athletic trainer.
The stint is Vermillion’s second in Washington; he previously was the director of rehabilitation for a year before joining the Panthers’ staff. He also spent nine seasons on the Miami Dolphins’ training staff after working for the University of Miami, where he graduated in 1987.
Rivera declined to provide specifics on who would assume Vermillion’s duties while he is on leave.
“Right now we’re going to work it with the doctors and we’ll go from there,” he said.
Anthony Casolaro is the team’s chief medical officer/internal medicine, and Chris Annunziata is the head team physician/orthopedics.
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