It was a special day at Northwest Stadium on Sunday as the Washington Commanders retired legendary cornerback Darrell Green’s No. 28 jersey. While Green was being honored, Washington’s ownership also honored many other Washington players of the past.
The Commanders hosted numerous former players for the weekend. While the franchise did alumni events in the past, it’s much different these days under new ownership. Players are happy to be back, including Green, who remained away from the franchise after he retired. Others, such as Green’s fellow Hall of Famer, Art Monk, are back in the fold.
The Commanders didn’t disappoint on the field either. Washington defeated the Carolina Panthers 40-7 on Sunday, and this was after losing rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to a rib injury in the first quarter.
After the game, head coach Dan Quinn was asked about the team using the franchise’s historical past to show the current squad where they can end up.
“Yeah, I think it’s very important,” Quinn said. “I think to go where you want to go, it’s important to understand the history of the franchise. And although a lot of the players didn’t know Darrell or any of his speed, and they saw the one of him chasing down as a rookie, Tony Dorsett, and it was overwhelming, the speed. And so, just showing some of those plays, when I showed that to get where you want to go, it’s important to understand where you’ve been and what is possible in a career. And, so not everybody’s going to have a Darrell Green career, but it is possible to show the remarkable things that can be done both on and off the field.”
Quinn’s right. Past Washington regimes alienated some of the most successful players in franchise history. Mostly, it was former owner Dan Snyder who alienated those players. However, under new ownership, Josh Harris and his partners like Mitchell Rales and Mark Ein — who all grew up as fans — reconnecting the franchise’s past to the future wasn’t only something they wanted to do but also needed to do.