The two-time Super Bowl champion defensive end Dexter Manley is back in good health.
Across the sporting scene in the nation’s capital, there were few figures as constant as Dexter Manley throughout the 1980s. A fearsome Redskins defensive end who hit double-digit sacks four times, he was a member of the Washington teams that won both Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XXII.
This spring, however, he faced a ruthless opponent that tested him like never before: the novel coronavirus. After a mid-May diagnosis, the news was consistently concerning regarding the state of his health. Fortunately, the man himself has emerge with a video message that even rival NFC East fans can cheer about.
Former Washington Redskins All-Pro defensive end Dexter Manley says he’s in good health after an extended struggle with COVID-19.
“I’m back, and you can’t keep a good man down,” Manley said, absolutely beaming.
In the days following his diagnosis becoming public, family members and former teammates reported that he was in poor condition, needed the assistance of oxygen, and at times had trouble speaking. That only makes today’s big news even sweeter.
In nine seasons with Washington, Manley recorded 91 sacks, which remains the franchise’s all-time record. He was a Pro Bowler and a First Team All-Pro selection in a 1986 season that saw him post 18.5 sacks, his career best. He went on to play one season each for the Cardinals and Buccaneers before finishing off his football career in the CFL.
He was later inducted into the Redskins Ring of Fame, and a panel of experts picked him as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins in 1992 to mark the franchise’s 70th anniversary.
Over the course of this global pandemic and the national protests against racism and police brutality, matters of life and death have been unavoidably at the forefront. At a time in which good news feels hard to come by, the fans in DC can take heart that one of their greats has emerged on the other side of a very real struggle for his own life — and that he’s ready to cheer for the his favorite team when it’s football time once again.