Washington defender considering retirement at a young age.

So, here’s a pretty shocking development: Washington Redskins Starting Safety Su’a Cravens, who only turned 22 years old in July, is reportedly considering retirement just one week before the start of the 2017 NFL season.

ESPN reports a meeting with members of Washington’s organization has changed Cravens’ mind. Still, the second-year player is reportedly going to miss some time early in the season.

The 22-year-old Cravens, who was nursing a knee injury, now is expected to miss the start of the season as Washington helps him address his issues.

Cravens is one of the league's youngest players, a second-round pick last year, and is struggling with the transition to the NFL. Washington officials want to help him through it rather than have him walk away from the game as one of the youngest NFL players to date to retire.

Cravens is listed as Washington’s starting strong safety on the team’s official depth chart. He was expected to be a key contributor to their defense.

The Philadelphia Eagles are set to play Washington at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland in one week from today. It sounds unlikely Cravens will play in that Week 1 game.

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UPDATE: Cravens will be out for at least the first month of the season.