Daily Slop – 14 Jul 24: RB Michael Wiley; careers winding down for Mariota & Ertz; designer of former team logo to be honored
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Parts of the Commanders’ Past Finding Their Way Into Harris Era
As training camp is quickly approaching with rookies due to report on July 18, the team has made two notable moves this week to honor its past.
The family of Walter “Blackie” Wetzel—the late Blackfeet Nation member who helped design the logo used from 1972 to 2020—is expected to be in attendance at the team’s home opener on Sept. 15, when a plaque acknowledging Wetzel will be unveiled at Commanders Field, Ryan Wetzel, a grandson of the late Walter Wetzel, told Front Office Sports. A Commanders spokesperson said “conversations with the Wetzel family are progressing well, but we cannot confirm details at this time.”
The team also has announced the return of its traditional, and widely popular, gold pants. While uniform changes are a regular occurrence for many teams, shifts like this for the Commanders carry extra weight. That’s particularly the case given the fans’ love of the franchise’s past, as well as the sensitivity around many elements of that history, including its former logo, the “R” name, and the combative and controversial era of former owner Dan Snyder.
The Wetzels, meanwhile, have seized on the unpopularity of the Commanders name—a moniker that has the support of only 16% of the fan base, per a recent Washington Post survey—in hopes that a potential name change could incorporate the old logo. Beyond the visit and a plaque, the Wetzels and Montana Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.) have continued to lobby the Commanders to bring back the logo in some form.
