Washington Commanders Hall of Shame: Worst breakup and more
After celebrating the Commanders by highlighting their players who someday could be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we flip the script to give you Washington's Hall of Shame.
Worst breakup: The old nickname
In the 1960s, several groups sought to end harmful stereotypes of Native Americans and called for Washington to change its name and logo. In 1992, a Native American group petitioned to have the Redskins nickname removed from the trademark. The courts ruled in favor of the petitioners, but the team appealed the decision.
When Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999, he vowed the name and team's insensitive logo would never change. But after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the NFL and its sponsors took a more active role in promoting social justice, forcing Snyder's hand.
After spending $205 million for the naming rights of Washington’s stadium, FedEx demanded the franchise change its name. Walmart and Amazon followed by removing all the team-branded items from their websites.
Faced with losing billions of dollars in sponsorships, Snyder finally agreed to change the team’s name to the Washington Football Team in 2020 and to the Commanders in 2022. If only it didn’t take so much time (and money) to get it done.
Worst draft pick: Left tackle Andre Johnson
Unlike Houston’s former Pro Bowl receiver of the same name, Washington’s Johnson never did anything for his team. In 1996, general manager Charley Casserly traded the team’s second and third-round picks for the 30th overall pick in the NFL Draft.
He used the pick on Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 314-pound left tackle from Penn State. Johnson never played a snap for the team and was cut during his second training camp.
"Like a lot of young players, Andre plays pretty well for three or four plays, then makes a bad one,'' Washington head coach Norv Turner told the media in 1997. "Right now, he's not able to avoid the real bad play. When you're playing out there at tackle, that negative play has an effect on everyone.''
In 1998, his last season in the league, Johnson played in three games with the Lions.
Worst free-agent signing: DT Albert Haynesworth
In seven years with Tennessee, Haynesworth had 271 tackles, 24 sacks and two First-Team All-Pro nominations. His 51 tackles and 8.5 sacks in 2008 were both career highs. During the 2009 offseason, Washington made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in history with a seven-year, $100 million contract.
After underperforming in 2009, Haynesworth skipped many of the team's offseason workouts and arrived at camp overweight in 2010. He failed the team’s mandatory conditioning test. Head coach Mike Shanahan wouldn’t let him play until he passed the physical. He would even give the media daily updates on Haynesworth's weight and conditioning.
On the field, Haynesworth was sluggish and ineffective. During a Monday night game against the Eagles in Nov. 2010, he loafed while Michael Vick threw a touchdown pass. Weeks later, the team suspended him for the final four games of the season and traded him to the Patriots in 2011 for a fifth-round pick.
Worst loss: 1940 NFL Championship Game
It’s hard to imagine anything worse than the infamous “Body Bag” game of 1990 when Washington lost nine players to injury on "Monday Night Football." But it’s even harder to imagine an NFL team losing a championship game by 73 points.
On Dec. 8, 1940, the Chicago Bears played at Washington in the NFL’s eighth championship game. After beating Washington 7-3 during the regular season, Washington owner George Preston Marshall referred to the Bears as “quitters” and “crybabies.”
Chicago used the disparaging names as rocket fuel. Three weeks later, the Bears scored 11 touchdowns and beat Washington in the NFL Championship Game, 73-0. Things got so bad in the second half that officials ran out of footballs and asked Chicago to stop kicking extra points into the stands. The game remains the most lopsided in NFL history.
More must-reads: