Looking back at the Washington Football Team era

ASHBURN — Taylor Heinicke joked when he was out of the NFL, people would ask what team he wanted to play for. He’d reply any — well except “for the team with no name,” the quarterback said. 

Sure enough …

“Here we are,” Heinicke smiled. 

Years from now, Heinicke will be the answer to a fun piece of trivia: Which quarterback started the most games for the NFL franchise briefly known as the Washington Football Team? 

This week, Washington announced it will unveil a new name and logo on Feb. 2. Some fans of the unvarnished “Washington Football Team” moniker have pointed out that the generic nickname hasn’t been officially ruled out — but the franchise’s president, Jason Wright, also says in a team-produced video available online that fans will soon get to see the “new name and logo in action.”

The impending rebrand has turned some fans into Internet sleuths — searching for any clue or hint as to what the new name might be.

Whatever the new name, Sunday’s season finale against the New York Giants will mark the likely end of a stopgap, drama-filled 18 months since the franchise dropped its American Indian imagery and “Redskins” moniker under pressure from activists and business partners.

In the midst of all the controversy surrounding the franchise since, many seemed to take comfort in the quirky, no-frills nickname.

“The name change came about during a fragile time in our society more so than anything else,” coach Ron Rivera said. “I think it was an appropriate decision to change the name. I kind of grew fond of being known as the ’Washington Football Team’ or ’The Team’ — that was kind of cool. I’ll remember it fondly. I also remember it was a very tumultuous time in terms of dealing with the pandemic as well.”

Constant chaos 

Rivera ended up navigating Washington through a tumultuous time that involved more than just a rebranding. There was the pandemic, of course. And within weeks of the announcement that the old nickname was out came news of a workplace sexual harassment scandal. Then, Rivera revealed he was fighting cancer. 

With owner Dan Snyder mired in legal battles and facing accusations himself in the workplace misconduct scandal, Rivera was tasked with serving as the public face of the franchise. In addition to trying to put together a competitive football team, the coach was expected to answer questions on every aspect of the operation.

“It just hasn’t been on the field what’s been on the field, but what has been off the field,” Rivera said when asked what the hardest part of rebuilding Washington has been. “That’s tough sometimes, too.” 

Along the way, the franchise suffered some self-inflicted wounds.

There was the gutsy story of Alex Smith, the quarterback who overcame life-threatening injuries to lead last season’s playoff push, only to later accuse the coaching staff of failing to support him in his comeback.      

There was the backlash from fans when, with curiously little notice, the team in October suddenly decided to retire the late Sean Taylor’s jersey.

There were leaked emails related to the sex-scandal investigation that had members of Congress threatening to get involved if the NFL itself didn’t get to the bottom of the matter.

Through it all, there was the football.

Fans will remember the late-season push, led by Smith, that took a losing team into the postseason.

There was Heinicke in that playoff game, turning in an eye-popping, out-of-nowhere performance in a loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Stats for the Washington Football Team won’t be broken out necessarily from the franchise’s 89-year history. But for the trivia buffs out there, here’s an unofficial snapshot of the era’s career leaders: Heinicke, a quarterback who was out of the NFL for more than a year, is the top passer, with 3,436 yards and counting. Terry McLaurin has 2,078 receiving yards with one more game to go. Antonio Gibson has 1,686 on the ground. And edge rusher Montez Sweat currently is the sack leader, with 14. 

Admirals, Commanders, oh my

As the Washington Football Team era wraps up, the biggest question remains: What’s the next name? 

Tuesday’s announcement of next month’s reveal prompted a Zapruder-like breakdown of the seven-minute video the team produced alongside it, with some posting of screengrabs and theories to social media. Did you see the stripes and stars on Washington’s new uniforms? Must be a reference to D.C.’s flag, some speculated. Chad Ryan, an Australian-based Washington fan, tweeted the quick transition of the team’s new “W” logo “happens to also be the PERFECT shape of the Pentagon.

“Yet another strong hint of a big military connection,” he wrote. 

Others picked up on private domain names floating out there. For instance, the website “Washingtoncommanders.com” was registered on July 3, 2020 — the same day that the Burgundy and Gold said they would no longer use Redskins. Sports attorney Dan Lust pointed out in a tweet that Washingtonadmirals.com redirects to Washingtonfootball.com.

Off-shore gambling sites, too, have listed the “Washington Admirals” as an overwhelming favorite with SportsBetting listing the name at -500, meaning a person would have to bet $500 to win $100. Another, OddsChecker, refused to even give odds on Admirals “due to some expert sleuthing.” The website then listed “Redtails,” “Renegades,” and “Presidents” as the next three favorites. 

“Oddsmakers seem to be behind the curve on this one,” OddsChecker spokesman Kyle Newman said in a press release. 

Washington co-CEO Tanya Snyder added to the confusion in September when she went on an ESPN podcast and seemed to confirm that eight names were finalists: the Armada, Presidents, Brigade, RedHogs, Commanders, RedWolves, Defenders and the Washington Football Team. Though after the podcast was posted, a team spokesperson said the names came from a team-produced video and were not were the final candidates. 

Rebrand resistance

No matter what name Washington picks, there will be critics, says George Mason business professor George Perry. 

Perry, a former Redskins marketing employee, noted how the team has tried to ease this process by eliminating certain names along the way. He said it was “smart” how the team acknowledged Tuesday that the fan-favorite names of “RedWolves” and “Wolves” were out of the running — making it easier for them to accept whatever is unveiled next month.

“It’s going to be a challenge because there’s a lot of people who have a lot of affinity for the previous name, before the Washington Football Team, that are going to still hold on to that for many, many years,” said Perry, referring to the Redskins. “Something new is going to be something different and hard to accept.”

There are even players on the roster who continue to embrace the team’s history — including the discarded former moniker. Undrafted rookie Jaret Patterson, a Maryland native, says he’ll always consider the team to be the Redskins. Not only did he grow up a diehard fan, but his parents have loads of Redskins memorabilia hanging in the family basement.

But along the way, the running back says, his family has added to the collection with some new Washington Football Team gear.

“In my heart, they will always be the Redskins,” Patterson said. “But it’s kind of cool getting a new name. I kind of like going into a new era, and the new name, I think people will like it. Whatever it is, we’re going to represent the whole DMV area to all the fans.”