Franchise Moments: 
Washington Commanders' Defining Moment of the Past Decade
Washington's last decade can be split cleanly into a before and after. Before: the Redskins name under fire, a Congressional investigation into a toxic workplace, an owner who told everyone in 2013 he'd "NEVER" change the name and then had that decision made for him anyway.
After: a new name, new ownership, and a rookie quarterback who took the franchise to the NFC Championship Game four years after it hit rock bottom.
The Franchise Defining Moment that splits those two eras: becoming the Commanders in February 2022.
Theo GremmingerSee Theo's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
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Mario PuigSee Mario's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsWashington officially renamed itself the Commanders on February 2, 2022, closing out an 18-month search for an identity and, more importantly, signaling that the organization was finally willing to change.
It doesn't look like a highlight. There's no play to point to, no score. But nothing else from Washington's last decade sets up everything that came after quite like it does.
The name change didn't happen because ownership wanted it to. Washington retired the Redskins name in July 2020 under real pressure -- Native American groups had objected to the slur for years, and in 2020 sponsors like FedEx, Nike and Pepsi finally threatened to walk if nothing changed. D.C. officials made noise about the team's lease. Dan Snyder, who'd insisted the name would never change, didn't have a choice left.
What followed was two seasons of playing as the "Washington Football Team" while the front office ran an 18-month process to land on something permanent. Military references made sense given the region's ties to the Pentagon and Arlington. They landed on Commanders and unveiled it on the Today show in February 2022, keeping the burgundy and gold.
The timing mattered as much as the name. The rebrand landed in the middle of a House Oversight Committee investigation into workplace misconduct inside the organization -- allegations that a later House report concluded Snyder himself had a role in.
The new name wasn't just a logo refresh. It was Washington trying to visibly separate itself from what the franchise had become under Snyder, while the owner most responsible for that reputation was still, technically, running the team.
How New Ownership Finished the Job Snyder Wouldn't
The name change was step one. It wasn't enough on its own, and everyone connected to the team knew it. Snyder spent another year under scrutiny before agreeing to sell. In May 2023, NFL owners unanimously approved a $6.05 billion sale to a group led by Josh Harris, at the time a record price for a North American sports franchise. With Snyder out, the Commanders finally had ownership that wasn't defined by scandal.
None of what happened next — the coaching hire, the quarterback pick, the playoff run — was realistic under the old regime. The 2022 rebrand is the moment that started the clock on getting rid of Snyder. Without it, there's no case Washington cleans house as fast as it did.
Jayden Daniels, Dan Quinn and the Payoff Nobody Saw Coming
New owners hired Dan Quinn as head coach in February 2024. Two months later, Washington took Jayden Daniels second overall out of LSU. Neither move looked like a sure thing in the moment -- Quinn hadn't run a team since a rough end in Atlanta. While Daniels was coming off a Heisman-winning season, plenty of evaluators still wanted to see translate to the NFL level. He certainly was not a viable NFL MVP candidate.
It translated immediately. Daniels ran Washington's attack as a rookie and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Washington went 12-5, its first winning season since 2016 and first playoff berth in four years.
Then it kept winning: a 23-20 Wild Card comeback over Tampa Bay, followed by a 45-31 blowout of Detroit in the Divisional round on the road. Washington's season ended in the NFC Championship Game, a 55-23 loss to an Eagles team that went on to win the Super Bowl. Getting run off the field in that game stung, but a team that had missed the playoffs in six of the previous seven years was suddenly two wins from the Super Bowl title.
None of that happens on the old timeline. Not with Snyder still running things, not under the Redskins name still tangled up in a federal investigation, not with the old front office making the football decisions. The rebrand didn't win Washington a single game. It's still the moment that made everything after it possible.
More About The Campaign
This piece is part of RotoWire's NFL Franchise Defining Moments series, breaking down the single moment from the last decade that most shaped where each of the league's 32 franchises stands today. See the full campaign hub for the rest of the series.
