The Washington Football Team has announced that it will unveil a new name and logo on February 2.
Team President Jason Wright released a statement on Tuesday saying, despite the preference appearing to be to use the name Wolves, trademarks by other teams meant that this, and the variation RedWolves, were not feasible.
"Early on we understood Wolves - or some variation of it - was one of our fan favourites," he said. "As I've said all along, we take feedback from our fans seriously, and because of your interest in this name, we put Wolves on a list of options to explore fully.
"Once we began looking into Wolves, however, we became aware of a notable challenge: trademarks held by other teams would limit our ability to make the name our own. And without Wolves, variations like RedWolves wouldn't have been viable either for these and other reasons.
"We can't wait to hit the ground running with our team name and identity on a clear path - one without distracting obstacles, legal or otherwise.
"And while we've always understood it would be a nearly impossible task to select a name that all of our fans would identify with as their first pick, we are very excited about our final selection, which aligns with our values, carries forth our rich history, represents the region and, most importantly, is inspired and informed by you, our fans."
Washington have been known simply as the Washington Football Team since July 2020 after dropping the previous name of the "Redskins".
The organization had been called the Redskins since 1933, but in July 2020, a group of 87 investment firms and shareholders signed three separate letters to Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo threatening to end relationships with the team unless it dropped the racially insensitive moniker.
FedEx, which sponsors the team's stadium, requested that action be taken by the franchise, and a review began the following day that ended with the decision to drop the name and seek a new one, which is finally set to be announced next month.
Washington sit third in the NFC East and out of playoff contention on a record of 6-10 after losing 20-16 to the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday.
Their final game of the season is a trip to the New York Giants on Sunday.
Falcons surprisingly pick quarterback Penix at No. 8
The Atlanta Falcons saw an opportunity and seized.
The Falcons pulled off a shocker, selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in Thursday's NFL draft.
Although Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180million contract this offseason, the team obviously views Penix as the quarterback of the future.
With the Falcons picking Penix, four quarterbacks have been selected in the top eight picks for the first time in the common draft era (1967).
And while four QBs went ahead of him, many scouts all agreed that Penix has the best arm on deep throws among all the quarterbacks in this year's draft class.
As a senior last year, he won the Maxwell Award as the top collegiate player in the United States and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, throwing for an FBS-best 4,903 yards with 36 TDs and 11 picks.
The left-handed throwing Penix led the Huskies to last season's the national title game, but after passing for 430 yards and two touchdowns in the CFP semi-final win over Texas, he threw for 255 yards and two interceptions in a 34-13 loss to Michigan.
In addition to his deep-ball accuracy, Penix also excels at getting rid of the ball quickly and avoid taking a sack, as he was sacked just 11 times despite attempting an FBS-high 555 passes in 2023. Among the 44 quarterbacks with at least 350 pass attempts, only four were sacked a fewer number of times.
Despite his big arm and pocket presence, some teams were a bit concerned about his age and injury history.
Penix will be 24 years old when the 2024 NFL season gets under way after beginning his collegiate career in 2018 at Indiana. After an up-and-down four years with the Hoosiers, which included a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2020 but also two season-ending injuries, Penix transferred to Washington prior to the 2022 season.
In his first season with the Huskies, Penix earned second-team All-Pac 12 honours after ranking second in the FBS in passing yards with 4,641 to go with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
He was able to stay healthy during his two years at Washington, and will now join an Atlanta offence that also has last year's No. 8 pick in Bijan Robinson.
Marvin Harrison Jr. headed to Cardinals, is first non-QB drafted
With players like Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson entering the league in recent years, Ohio State has become a factory for NFL wide receivers.
Marvin Harrison Jr. might be the best of the bunch.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Harrison with the fourth overall pick on Thursday, making him the first non-quarterback to come off the board.
With several teams still looking for their future quarterbacks, some experts thought the Cardinals could trade the No. 4 pick, but they ultimately stayed put to take Harrison.
The son of the eight-time Pro Bowl receiver and Indianapolis Colts great, Harrison Jr. spent three seasons at Ohio State. In his last two seasons in Columbus, he totalled 144 receptions for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Harrison is a two-time All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award last year as college football’s best receiver.
With good athleticism and a 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame, Harrison checks all the boxes to project as a No. 1 NFL receiver.
In a pre-draft interview with ESPN on Thursday, Harrison said his goal is to be “the best receiver to ever play.”
Harrison joins a Cardinals team that is looking to recover from a 4-13 season and wants to build around quarterback Kyler Murray.
Commanders take QB Jayden Daniels 2nd in NFL draft
The Washington Commanders are confident that they have found their franchise quarterback.
With the second overall pick, the Commanders selected LSU’s Jayden Daniels, one of the most electric dual-threat quarterback prospects in recent memory.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner led LSU to a 10-3 season last year and threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He added 1,134 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Daniels downplayed reports that he was unhappy with the Commanders conducting a group interview with other top quarterback prospects.
“I'm blessed to go wherever I'm called,” Daniels told reporters. “Whoever calls my phone, whoever gives the card to the Commissioner that says my name, I'm blessed to go and they're going to get my all.”
Daniels later clarified that he was “one hundred percent” heading to Washington.
Despite gaudy production in his senior year, scouts were split on Daniels’ professional prospects, with some wondering if he possesses the pocket passing skills required for the NFL.
At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Daniels is larger than most dual-threat prospects, and his ability to avoid turnovers his senior year was very promising.
But Daniels’ Heisman season is an outlier among his five seasons in college – three at Arizona State and the final two at LSU.
In his first 43 NCAA games, Daniels had a 143.8 passer rating. That number skyrocketed to 208.0 last season.
Due to his extended college career, Daniels will celebrate his 24th birthday during his rookie season in the NFL, making him significantly older than fellow top quarterback prospects Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
Daniels joins a Commanders squad that went 4-13 last season with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
Dan Quinn replaces Ron Rivera as Washington’s head coach, and former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will take over as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator.
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