Washington Redskins

Joe Theismann tells TMZ Sports the Redskins would be making a HUGE mistake if they passed on Chase Young for Tua Tagovailoa next month ... saying he simply doesn't think the QB is worth it.

"Without hesitation," the Redskins legend says, "I take Chase Young."

As for why, Theismann tells us Tua has just too many question marks surrounding him heading into April's NFL draft.

"He's not a generational quarterback," Theismann said. "[Joe] Burrow might be. I think so. But, Tua is not. I'm not sold on the strength of his arm."

Joe tells us he believes Young is the best player in the draft regardless ... and with the Redskins moving to a 4-3 defense, he thinks the pick should be a no-brainer.

Of course, some in D.C. disagree with Theismann ... mostly because Dwayne Haskins was pretty bad in his limited playing time as a rookie last season.

But, Joe tells us he ain't ready to give up on the ex-Ohio State superstar just yet ... and says Ron Rivera and the 'Skins shouldn't be either.

Ex-NFL star Fred Smoot just got a slap on the wrist despite being arrested by a BUNCH of cops back in October ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story, the former Washington Redskin DB's Loudoun County, Virginia house was surrounded by cops in Oct. 2018 after they say he failed to appear for several court dates.

You can see in pics we obtained of the arrest ... the cops looked pretty serious about the case -- which all stemmed from some minor traffic violations.

But, Smoot was hardly punished for the whole ordeal ... despite being found guilty of several charges at a trial this week.

According to court records, Smoot was found guilty of failing to appear, driving without a license and driving with expired registration ... but his punishment was ultimately nothing more than fines.

Smoot WAS sentenced to 6 days in jail for the failure to appear ... but he got credit for time served from when he was initially arrested, and he will NOT have to spend any additional days behind bars.

Lots of action on Black Monday ...

The Washington Redskins officially fired team president Bruce Allen on Monday after a dismal 3-13 season, ending his 10-year run with the franchise.

The good news ... the 'Skins are reportedly making a serious run at hiring Ron Rivera to fill their head coaching position. Rivera is considered one of the top available coaches, despite being axed by the Carolina Panthers earlier this season.

The Redskins have been a smoldering dumpster fire over the years -- they haven't won a playoff game since 2005 and the fans are so depressed about the state of the team, home game attendance has dropped like crazy.

They fired head coach Jay Gruden earlier this season after an 0-5 start. Interim HC Bill Callahan didn't fare much better.

Seems owner Dan Snyder is pointing the finger at Allen in a pretty aggressive statement.

"As this season concludes, Bruce Allen has been relieved of his duties as President of the Washington Redskins and is no longer with the organization," Snyder said.

"Like our passionate fan base, I recognize we have not lived up to the high standards set by great Redskins teams, coaches and players who have come before us."

"As we reevaluate our team leadership, culture and process for winning football games, I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead to renew our singular focus and purpose of bringing championship football back to Washington D.C."

Trent Williams has been slapped with a demand letter to get rid of his 9 pit bull mastiffs after his neighbor's dog was mauled and killed last week ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The NFL star's Missouri City, TX neighbor is threatening a lawsuit after her 3-year-old black lab was dragged through her backyard fence and ripped to shreds on Wednesday.

Authorities are currently investigating the dog's death -- as well as the circumstances surrounding the incident -- and Linda Flowers' attorney says they're hell-bent on getting justice.

"Right now we're hoping the authorities handle it," John Kovach tells us. "If the authorities don't handle it, that's when I come in and my firm will handle it."

"In the lawsuit, I'll seek an injunction that restrains him from having those dogs at his house."

Williams claims it was Flowers' dog that initiated the attack, but Kovach says the evidence doesn't back up his claim.

Williams also addressed the incident with local reporters last week ... saying it was "dogs doing what dogs do."

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call Flowers made after the incident ... and it's very emotional.

The guy who took a selfie with Dwayne Haskins while the QB was supposed to be on the field is telling critics to shut the hell up, saying it's about time the Redskins put their fans first!

"I think it is important to, at least for once, prioritize the fans," Jaime López-Verduzco tells TMZ Sports.

If you missed it ... Haskins finally led the Redskins to a win over the Lions on Sunday -- but the QB's been under fire because he missed the final snaps of the victory to take selfies with fans.

In fact, legendary Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann said of the whole incident, "That’s unprofessional & wrong."

But, when we spoke with the guy whose iPhone caused all the drama ... he told us straight-up he thinks the criticism is BS.

"The Redskins are unfortunately losing fans by the day," Jaime says. "Dwayne took the time to make sure that didn't happen ... Let's give the man credit where it's due."

Jaime tells us he hasn't had the opportunity to speak with Dwayne since the infamous pic ... but he says he's hoping to catch up with the QB at the Redskins' next home game on Dec. 15.

As for his plans for the selfie ... Jaime tells us he's trying to frame it with a Haskins jersey -- and have Dwayne sign them both at the game next month!!!

"Hopefully, I won't bother him during the game," Jaime says. "I'll make sure I wait until after."

Julia Crabbe's family wants to know why Montae Nicholson did NOT call 911 when she was dying of a drug overdose -- and they went to FedEx Field on Sunday to get answers.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... cops say Nicholson dropped Crabbe off at a Virginia hospital on Nov. 13 and left the scene, despite the fact she appeared dead on arrival.

Officials have NOT accused Nicholson of any criminal wrongdoing, but Crabbe's family is clearly PISSED at the NFL player ... and they want answers.

"In her time of need, no one decided to call 911," Crabbe's aunt, Shirley Kirkland, told FOX 5 in D.C. ... "If they just would've called 911, she may have had a chance at life."

Several members of the family wore shirts with messages directed at Crabbe including -- "#JusticeForJulia" and "#35NeverCalled911."

Of course, #35 is Nicholson's jersey number.

As for the investigation, officials believe 21-year-old Crabbe had been at Nicholson's home in the hours before she died.

Cops obtained a search warrant and found several concerning items at Nicholson's home including marijuana, prescription pills and foil with residue.

Crabbe's father told FOX 5 his daughter had been dating Nicholson for several months before she died ... and he's upset Nicholson hasn't contacted the family since her passing.

"Man, it's been rough, to say the least."

That's an emotional Montae Nicholson -- still clearly distraught -- talking about how he's been handling the death of a 21-year-old woman while cooperating with police.

"I'd like to make it known that this week has been extremely hard on not only myself but Julia's friends and family as well," the Washington Redskins safety said.

We broke the story ... cops say Nicholson and another man dropped Julia Crabbe off at a Virginia-area hospital last Wednesday night, where she died from a suspected drug overdose.

Montae played for the Redskins vs. the Jets just 3 days later -- and on Thursday, Nicholson was asked point-blank if the team pressured him to take the field.

"End of the day, it was my decision. I wasn't forced into anything."

In fact, Nicholson says the Redskins organization has been extremely supportive while he deals with the tragedy and police investigation.

"My teammates and fans ... the head office, they made it very well known that they have my back ... they could have shut the door on me and turned their backs, but they didn't."

As we previously reported, investigators believe Crabbe had been at Montae's house before the OD ... and a search of Nicholson's home turned up marijuana, pills and "foil with residue."

Nicholson has NOT been accused of any criminal wrongdoing -- and says he's cooperating with police.

Meanwhile, the Redskins are set to play the Detroit Lions this week and Montae says he plans on taking the field again.

Montae Nicholson will play for the Washington Redskins on Sunday despite being a key figure in a police investigation into the death of a 21-year-old woman, the team says.

"As of right now, he is active," Redskins head coach Bill Callahan said Wednesday.

"He did play Sunday and right now he is on the active roster and is scheduled to play."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the 23-year-old safety claims he's cooperating with authorities in the death of 21-year-old Julia Crabbe, who died of a suspected drug overdose Thursday morning.

Officials say Montae and another man dropped Julia off at a Virginia hospital in the middle of the night and then left the scene, despite the fact she appeared dead on arrival.

Investigators believe Crabbe had been at Montae's home before the OD -- so they got a search warrant and found marijuana, pills and "foil with residue" inside.

It's important to note cops have not said if the drugs belonged to (or were provided by) Nicholson -- and he has NOT been formally accused of any wrongdoing.

For his part, Montae claims he did NOT leave the hospital on the night in question -- and stuck around to help out until Crabbe's family arrived.

Nicholson suited up and played for the Redskins just 3 days after Crabbe's death -- and was on the field for 70 of the Redskins' 71 defensive snaps, recording 5 combined tackles.

The Redskins take on the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday in a game that's really meaningless for Washington, since they've only won 1 game this season and have virtually no shot at the playoffs.

Investigators say they found pills, weed and "foil with residue" when they searched the home of Redskins safety Montae Nicholson in connection to the death of a 21-year-old woman.

It's all spelled out in the search warrant obtained by TMZ Sports, which does NOT identify who the drugs belonged to.

In other words, just because the items were found in Montae's home does not mean Montae provided them to the victim, Julia Crabbe.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Nicholson and another man brought the 21-year-old woman to a Virginia hospital late Wednesday night, where she ultimately died.

Officials believe the cause of death is a drug overdose.

Montae's reps and the Washington Redskins have both said Montae is cooperating with law enforcement.

We're told Montae has NOT been named a suspect and has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.

However, Crabbe's mother spoke with local news and said she believes Montae "could have done more" to save her daughter.

Cops say they're still actively investigating the death.

Story developing ...

Washington Redskins safety Montae Nicholson is back at practice ... this while an investigation into a 21-year-old woman's death continues.

Nicholson was one of two men who brought an unconscious and unresponsive woman to an E.R. in Ashburn, Virginia on Thursday at around 1:30 AM. Officials say the woman died at the hospital and all signs point to a drug overdose.

Nicholson has NOT been arrested or accused of any wrongdoing -- but officials are VERY curious about what happened before she arrived at the hospital. We're told Nicholson is cooperating with authorities as the investigation continues.

The 23-year-old defensive back had missed practice on Thursday to deal with the matter ... but on Friday, Nicholson was back with his team, wearing sweats and his #35 jersey.

Nicholson has yet to comment on the situation ... and it's unclear if he'll play this weekend against the New York Jets.

Trent Williams says Washington Redskins doctors misdiagnosed his cancer more than FIVE YEARS ago ... and the 7-time Pro Bowl left tackle says it nearly cost him his life.

The 31-year-old -- who held out from the team earlier this season -- returned to the Redskins this week ... and in his first meeting with reporters, he made the stunning revelation.

Williams claims back in 2013, he approached team doctors about a growth on his head ... but says after they told him it was a benign cyst and nothing to worry about, he essentially ignored it.

But, Williams says the tumor kept on growing ... and when he finally went to have it checked out by independent doctors this year -- they told him it was a serious form of cancer.

"[They] told me it was DFSP," Williams said, referring to Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans. "That's what the cancer is called. It's a very rare soft tissue cancer."

Williams said the form of cancer was so serious, "I almost lost my life" ... and added, "I was lucky."

The 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive lineman said he needed multiple surgeries -- including one where surgeons extracted the tumor from his skull -- to fix the issue.

Williams says other than some lingering effects on his scalp due to the surgeries, he's relatively fine now ... but he says he's having some serious difficulties trusting the Redskins.

Williams says the alleged misdiagnosis from team doctors is the reason he's been away from the 'Skins this season ... and he didn't seem sure if he'd ever play for the team again.

"Seriously, I almost lost my life," Williams said. "You're 30, coming off your seventh straight Pro Bowl and a doctor tells you to get your affairs in order."

"It's not going to sit well with you. And, it still doesn't."

Alex Smith went under the knife SEVENTEEN TIMES to repair the leg that he gruesomely mangled in a Redskins game back in 2018. Yeesh.

According to The Washington Times, the 'Skins QB was speaking at an Inova Sports Medicine event earlier this month in Fairfax, Virginia when he made the revelation.

It's a pretty shocking figure ... considering in December, it was reported 35-year-old Smith only needed SIX surgeries to fix the issues.

Of course, given how violent the injury looked when J.J. Watt sacked the QB in a Nov. 18, 2018 Texans-Redskins game ... it's not exactly a surprising number.

Smith has battled heroically throughout the whole recovery process ... remember, it was just a few months ago when his leg was spotted at a Wizards game with a nasty metal brace on it.

Alex has since had the contraption removed ... and told reporters at Washington's training camp this summer that he still has hopes he can return to the field someday.

Here it is ... the last moments of Jay Gruden in D.C. right before he boarded a plane and got the hell out of town.

The footage was shot Monday at Dulles International Airport ... just hours after Jay got the chop in Washington. Jay was heading for Orlando, where he has a home.

And, ya gotta hand it to the guy, because despite JUST losing his job -- we're told he couldn't have been nicer to people who recognized him in the airport.

He even posed for pics and shook some hands before getting on the plane.

One witness described the scene this way ...

"He was ready to leave and kept his head low. I talked to him for a few minutes and wished him good luck on his next job. He was at the bar with his wife. It looked like he was having a long day."

Santana Moss says he has the PERFECT candidate to replace Jay Gruden on the Redskins ... telling TMZ Sports Gregg Williams would KILL IT as headman in D.C.!

Of course, Moss is a bit biased ... he was playing receiver for the 'Skins while Williams was the defensive coordinator there back in the early 2000s.

But, Moss says that's exactly why he's pounding the table for Gregg after Gruden's firing Monday ... saying his time with Williams has convinced him the 61-year-old should be Dan Snyder's next hire.

"I watched our defense for years," Moss says ... "One year, we had a lot of missing bodies out there -- like, key guys. And, he made us a contender."

Moss says Williams' defenses were so inspiring, it actually made the offense play better ... telling us, "He implemented what we needed as a culture."

Williams is currently the defensive coordinator in New York ... but it seems like he might be available for hire in 2020, 'cause the Jets are currently terrible.

And -- even though Williams is seemingly constantly surrounded by controversy (see Bountygate and the 2019 Odell Beckham drama) ... he does have a SERIOUSLY impressive resume.

The Jay Gruden era in Washington is finally over ... the Redskins fired the head coach after losing its 5th game in 5 weeks.

Surprised? No way. Washington (0-5) has been garbage this season ... and last season. And, the season before that.

But, losing to the New England Patriots at home on Sunday was the final straw for owner Dan Snyder, who fired the 52-year-old just hours after the game.

The team issued a statement saying, "Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations, and we all share in that responsibility."

Dwayne Haskins needs to go back to the bench now ... 'cause Redskins legend Joe Theismann says the rookie QB ain't ready to face Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

The 22-year-old rookie out of Ohio State -- the 15th pick in this year's draft -- was thrown into the Skins-Giants game in the 2nd quarter ... and things didn't exactly go smoothly.

Haskins was 9 of 17 for 107 yards ... and he threw 3 interceptions. The Redskins lost 24-3.

That was against the mediocre New York Giants ... with the undefeated New England Patriots -- and their hellacious defense -- coming into town this week, Theismann says DH can't start at QB.

"You cannot start him against the New England Patriots. You can't start Dwayne Haskins against the New England Patriots. I mean, it can't happen. It wouldn't be good for him, it wouldn't be good for the franchise, it wouldn't be good for football for crying out loud."

Joe says he's seen all-time greats play bad in the beginning ... so just 'cause Haskins struggled, doesn't mean he won't be a star in the future.

"I go all the way back to Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning's rookie season, he threw 29 interceptions. And, you just have to be committed to somebody and realize that it takes time to be able to play this position."

Joe also says the Redskins problems go a lot deeper than QB.

"What bothers me more than anything was the undisciplined nature," Theismann says.

"The penalties that we got. The offsides. The continuing holding by the offensive line. Those are my concerns, besides Dwayne."

"So, if you're a Redskins fan, it isn't just the quarterback position, case missing people open, Dwayne having to go in and play and not really looking like he'd be able to handle it at this moment. But, it's those other things that really have got me concerned."