a day ago
Former Washington NFL stars named July 4 Parade Grand Marshals
Former Washington Redskins Clinton Portis and Ryan Kerrigan will be celebrating July 4 in Middletown, Va.
The two former Redskins stars are not only celebrating our nation's independence in Middletown, but they are also being honored, as they have been named grand marshals for the July 4 Middletown parade. A third grand marshal has been named, Lauryn Ricketts, a meteorologist with WRC-TV and WTOP-FM in Washington, D.C.
Portis before playing with the Redskins, was a Miami Hurricane prior to being drafted by the Denver Broncos. When Redskins cornerback Champ Bailey threatened to boycott training camp if they used the NFL franchise tag on him, Washington traded Bailey and a second-round draft choice to the Broncos for Portis.
Playing in 113 NFL games, Portis rushed for 9,923 yards, averaging 4.4 yards a carry and scoring 75 NFL touchdowns. Following his NFL career, Portis was voted one of the Washington Redskins' greatest 80 players to mark the 80th anniversary of the franchise.
Kerrigan played in 172 NFL games, all but one season in Washington, where he accumulated 95.5 quarterback sacks. The former first-round draft choice (16th overall) by the Redskins in the 2011 NFL draft, accumulated 333 solo tackles while also forcing 26 fumbles.
Playing 10 seasons in Washington (his one final season in Philadelphia), Kerrigan became the Washington all-time quarterback sacks leader with 95.5. The four-time Pro Bowler led the NFL in 2016 with 18 tackles for a loss.
'We're excited that they're coming and we're looking forward to a wonderful July 4th celebration,' Mayor Charles Harbaugh said. 'We're really throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it.'
The mayor was referring to a full slate of activities on tap for Independence Day, starting with a Big Ball softball tournament at 8 a.m. and ending with a fireworks show at 9:15 p.m. Events will be held at various locations in town but most will occur in Middletown Community Park.
The centerpiece of Middletown's July 4th celebration is its parade. Organizer Katie Garrett said that as of Thursday morning, 76 entries were set to participate. The parade will step off at 5 p.m. and wind its way along Main Street.
