Feds Searched Washington Football Facility, Trainer on Leave

Federal investigators executed a search warrant at the Washington Football Team’s training facility and a nearby home on Friday, law enforcement sources tell News4. The team’s head athletic trainer is on leave because of an investigation, the team said. 

Ryan Vermillion, the WFT’s director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer, is on leave, the team said in a brief statement Monday. 

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

Vermillion didn’t immediately comment and it was unclear if he had a lawyer.

The searches occurred Friday afternoon at the INOVA Sports Performance Center in Ashburn and at a home in Loudoun County, sources said.

Residents of the townhome complex said they saw multiple U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. 

Vermillion is in his second season as Washington’s head athletic trainer, after 18 seasons in the role for the Carolina Panthers, his team bio says. He worked for the Panthers under current Washington Head Coach Ron Rivera for nine seasons.

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News4 and NBC Sports Washington are working to learn more about the target of the investigation.