History of the Washington Commanders

According to ESPN, the team has long contended it was named in honor of Marshall's head coach, William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, who was believed to be part Sioux.

Though McPeak's coaching record was nothing to be proud of (21–46–3 over five seasons),[18] he is better known for helping the Redskins draft future stars such as wide receiver Charley Taylor, tight end Jerry Smith, safety Paul Krause, center Len Hauss, and linebacker Chris Hanburger.

A typical comment by Post writer Shirley Povich wasJim Brown, born ineligible to play for the Redskins, integrated their end zone three times yesterday.

[52][53] In 1969, Williams hired former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi for the same role, granting him a 5% stake in ownership and full control over football operations as the team's executive vice president.

[56] Allen and players Billy Kilmer, running back Larry Brown, center Len Hauss, receiver Charley Taylor, linebacker Chris Hanburger and safety Pat Fischer helped the Redskins make the playoffs for the first time since 1945 with a 9–4–1 mark.

[60] During 1982, players like quarterback Joe Theismann, running back John Riggins, and receiver Art Monk got most of the publicity, but the Redskins were one of the few teams ever to have a famous offensive line.

The members included wide receivers Monk, Virgil Seay, Charlie Brown, and Alvin Garrett, and tight ends Rick Walker, and Don Warren.

On October 1, 1983, the Redskins lost to the Green Bay Packers 48–47 in the highest scoring Monday Night Football game in history, in which both teams combined for more than 1,000 yards (910 m) of total offense.

[31] The most impressive feat during the season occurred on October 12, 1992, when Art Monk became the NFL's all-time leading pass receiver against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football by catching his 820th career reception.

[71] Of the starters from Super Bowl XXVI, the team entered the season having lost Gary Clark, Fred Stokes, Wilber Marshall, and Martin Mayhew through free agency; Don Warren, meanwhile, retired after 1992.

By 1996, and of the 25 players starting for Washington (including kicker Chip Lohmiller and punter Kelly Goodburn) in Super Bowl XXVI, only running back/kick returner Brian Mitchell and cornerback Darrell Green had remained with the team continuously since then.

[71] Also during the 1997 offseason, two Redskins players became the focus of media attention when Michael Westbrook, 1995 first-round draft pick, punched Stephen Davis, an incident caught by local TV news cameras.

[81] Hoping for a turnaround from the year before, the Redskins started the 2003 season on September 4, 2003, when they hosted the NFL kickoff game at FedExField, defeating the Jets 16–13, thanks to a last-minute field goal by ex-Jets kicker John Hall.

The final big change in the off-season occurred on March 3, 2004, when the Redskins agreed to a trade with the Broncos, sending cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft choice to Denver for running back Clinton Portis.

Trailing 13–0 with 3:46 left in the game and facing a 4th down with 15 yards to go at the Dallas 39-yard line, QB Mark Brunell hit WR Santana Moss in the end zone with a pass to cut the lead to 13–7 after the PAT.

They won the rematch by a final score of 17–10,[31] after taking an early 14–0 lead, which they later seemed to have squandered until replay evidence showed that an apparent touchdown that would have tied the game was in fact an incomplete pass.

When the kick went up, it was blocked by Troy Vincent and returned by Sean Taylor to the Cowboys 47-yard line as time expired, apparently sending the game to overtime, but a facemask on Dallas allowed newly signed kicker Nick Novak attempt a 49-yard field goal on an untimed down.

Later that night, a Miami-Dade police spokeswoman announced that the four men: Venjah Hunte, 20; Eric Rivera Jr., 17; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Charles Wardlow, 18; were arrested and charged with Taylor's murder.

In addition to the #21 sticker on the back of every helmet, the Redskins wore it as a patch on player uniforms, warm-up shirts and coaching staff jackets, as well as unveiling a banner bearing his name and number.

Speakers at the funeral, which was nationally televised, included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, coach Gibbs, and former professional and collegiate teammates LaVar Arrington, Clinton Portis, and Buck Ortega.

Collins proved to be more than just a one-game solution, despite not having started a game in 10 years, and led the Redskins to three more straight victories to finish the season with a 9–7 record and secured a Wild Card spot in the players.

[105] The franchise and fans alike expressed great pride on February 2, 2008, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame voted in former players Darrell Green and Art Monk, as well as former defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas.

During his rookie season with Washington, Kerrigan would go on to record 63 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed, 4 run stuffs, and 1 interception that he returned for a 9-yard touchdown in week 1 against the Redskins NFC East division rival New York Giants.

During Week 16 against the Vikings rookie RB Evan Royster made his first career start rushing for 132 yards on 19 carries while Helu was nursing an injured knee and toe.

After week 13 the Redskins were informed that starting TE Fred Davis and LT Trent Willams would be suspended for the rest of the season for failing consecutive drug tests.

They decided to not re-sign LaRon Landry, making him the third player who was a first-round draft pick of the Washington Redskins to leave the team since the Shanahan administration; the first being Campbell (via trade) and the second being Rogers (via free agency).

Alfred Morris also had 113 yards rushing on 24 carries and 1 touchdown while the Redskins defense intercepted two passes from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and sacked him a total of three times.

Griffin III would try his best though to lead his team to victory and stayed in the game and played through the pain, although he was not very effective he showed courage up to the moment on a bobbled snap, his knee gave out from underneath him and he tore his LCL and ACL.

Prince George's County and D.C. officials were reportedly making a play to lure the Redskins back to their respective areas for training camp at either RFK Stadium or Bowie State University.

[163] Earlier in 2020, minority owners Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar, and Frederick W. Smith were reported to have hired an investment banking firm to help search for potential buyers for their stake in the team, worth around 40 percent combined.

1938 Washington Redskins
Fenway Park was the home of the Boston Redskins and Boston Red Sox from 1933 to 1936.
Lone Star Dietz was the head coach of the Redskins from 1933 to 1934.
Max Krause was a running back for the Redskins from 1937 to 1940 . [ 28 ]
Curly Lambeau was the head coach of the Redskins from 1952 to 1953 . He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. [ 36 ]
Tom Osborne , wide receiver for the Redskins between 1960 and 1961 , [ 42 ] was elected to serve in the US House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. [ 43 ]
Edward Bennett Williams , team president and minority stockholder, became controlling owner of the Redskins in 1965 following Marshall's decline in health.
The Redskins playing against the Dolphins in Super Bowl VII.
George Allen was the head coach of the Redskins from 1971 to 1977 and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. [ 57 ]
John Riggins , running back for the Redskins between 1976 and 1985 , was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992. [ 58 ]
Joe Gibbs was the head coach of the Redskins from 1981 to 1992 and, again from 2004 to 2007 . He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. [ 59 ]
Darrell Green , cornerback for the Redskins between 1983 and 2002 , was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. [ 61 ]
Joe Theismann , quarterback for the Redskins between 1974 and 1985, led the Redskins to a win in Super Bowl XVII and an appearance in Super Bowl XVIII . [ 68 ]
On January 31, 1988 Doug Williams became the first African-American QB to win a Super Bowl by defeating the Denver Broncos 42–10 in Super Bowl XXII . Williams completed 9 of 11 passes for 228 yards and 4 touchdowns in the second quarter alone.
RFK Stadium was the home of the Redskins from 1961 to 1996.
Heath Shuler , quarterback for the Redskins between 1994 and 1995, [ 73 ] is a former 3-term member in the United States House of Representatives . [ 74 ]
FedExField .
Chris Samuels , seen here at the 2008 Pro Bowl , was the starting offensive tackle for the Redskins from 2000 to 2009 [ 77 ]
Laveranues Coles , seen here with the New York Jets , was a wide receiver for the Redskins from 2003 to 2004 . [ 82 ]
Steve Spurrier was the head coach of the Redskins from 2002 to 2003 . [ 85 ]
Chris Cooley is a former tight end for the Redskins and current Washington radio personality. [ 87 ]
Jason Campbell became starting quarterback during the middle of the 2006 season .
Sean Taylor , first-round draft pick in 2004, played safety for the Redskins until he was fatally shot in November 2007. [ 89 ]
Todd Collins was the backup quarterback for the Redskins from 2006 to 2009 . [ 96 ]
Ethan Albright was the Redskins long snapper from 2001 up to 2009 . [ 97 ]
Brian Orakpo during a Redskins' preseason game in 2009.
Will Montgomery (right) with back-up Erik Cook at Redskins training camp in 2011
Quarterback Robert Griffin III won the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012, while also leading the team to their first division title since 1999.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins after the comeback victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015, the biggest in franchise history
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins (#7) was drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft but released the following year after inconsistent play and off-the-field issues.
Having fully recovered from a life-threatening leg injury from 2018, quarterback Alex Smith helped lead the team to a NFC East division title in 2020, earning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in the process.