For a lot of players, their welcome-to-the-NFL moment is something that happens on the field. Something like a big hit they took, underestimating the speed of their opponent, or making a mental error. For Darnell Washington, his came in the form of the most expensive nap of his life.
In [an interview with Zach’s Tech Turf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVPaPn4wvNc) while the two built a PC, Washington said his welcome-to-the-NFL moment came in his rookie season when he fell asleep during training camp.
“After practice, we got meetings, and meetings typically last from I wanna say like, 4-5, all the way until 9 at night. I typically go back to my room and just sit there, turn on a game, play a quick game of 2k, Call of Duty or whatever it may be,” he recalled. “And I fell asleep. I woke up at like 9:10. So everything’s over. I missed team meetings. I missed the offense meetings. I missed position meetings.”
Since Darnell Washington didn’t hear from anybody about not showing up to the meetings, he thought no one noticed. Until he found out how much his nap would cost him.
“The next day I’m just thinking everything’s fine, I thought they didn’t notice me,” he said. “The fine was like $17,000.”
Unlike in college, there won’t be coaches there to hold a player’s hand and ensure they’re where they need to be. Had Washington missed a meeting in college, someone would’ve been there to check on him, but in the NFL, Washington is on his own. No one’s going out of their way to figure out where the rookie tight end is, and it was an automatic fine from the team given he didn’t show up.
Washington said he hasn’t missed anything since that instance, and during his rookie season, he refused to go back in his room after practice and would instead sit on a bench somewhere on the campus of Saint Vincent College. For Washington, it was certainly a costly lesson to learn, but it quickly showed him that the NFL is a lot different than college and he’s the only one who’s going to be responsible for himself.
Now, entering Year 3, Washington [is expected to be a key part of Pittsburgh’s offense](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/03/baldinger-steelers-are-really-excited-about-darnell-washington-in-run-game-potential-of-offensive-line/), especially as a blocker.
Oversleeping is a mistake that almost everyone has made once or twice, but it often doesn’t come with a $17,000 expense attached to it. But that’s life in the NFL as Darnell Washington learned the hard way.