Brandon Meriweather's debut season with the Washington Redskins is a total loss.
The Redskins announced Monday that the strong safety will be placed on injured reserve after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Sunday's 31-6 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Meriweather had seven tackles, two pass breakups and one interception in the game, but he missed most of the second half after suffering what initially was diagnosed as a sprained knee. An MRI revealed the full extent of the damage, and Meriweather's recovery time after surgery is expected to be six months.
Meriweather made his season debut Sunday after missing the first nine games with strains in his medial collateral ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the preseason. Two setbacks, including a bizzare pregame collision with teammate Aldrick Robinson last month, stalled Meriweather's comeback.
The Redskins signed Meriweather to bring stability to a position ravaged by injury in recent years. They're still searching.
"I want to start off by saying I'm sorry to all the Redskins fan," he tweeted. "Y'all are the best. But this was a bad season for me.
In a final odd twist to a snake-bitten season, the team's Twitter feed tagged its update of Meriweather with, "This is his first NFL injury."
If it's a joke, Meriweather can't be laughing.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
