Washington Commanders build anticipation for jersey refresh
As a Washington fan, it's hard to pinpoint the exact moment the suffering began.
Was it when the team changed its name from the Washington Redskins to the Washington Football Team in July 2020 after 87 years? Or was it when the Washington Football Team finally landed on a new name, the Commanders, two years later? Or maybe it was when Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999?
Or maybe it was the very moment I chose this franchise to follow instead of all the other options out there (I was a 49ers fan first, I could've had a much easier life), but whatever the start date, the suffering ends on April 15 at 10 am ET.
What happens then?
Well, that's when the Washington Commanders finally get to say 'goodbye' to their awful current uniforms and replace them with something a little more appealing.
It's been a rough road since former team president Jason Wright first went on NBC's "Today" show four years ago to unveil the new team name and jerseys. The old name and jersey were always going to be tough to follow up. There was never going to be a "right answer" for replacing the old tradition.
Some fans wanted the team to be called the Red Wolves. Others wanted the team to be called the Warriors.
Personally, I wanted the name changed to The Washington Burgundy & Gold (stick with me here. There is precedent for a team to be named after a color, Cincy Reds and Cleveland Browns, plus many of the fans already call the team The Burgundy & Gold), but that idea went about as far as the Red Wolves and Warriors did.
Very few fans, if any, saw the Commanders coming. But before we could even digest what the name Commanders was in reference to (was a nod to the current military?), we also got to see exactly what the new uniforms would look like.
Needless to say we weren't impressed.
Last day with the worst black and white jerseys in the league.
— NFL Fashion Advice (@fashion_nfl) April 14, 2026
Good riddance. pic.twitter.com/G482mGahva
The red uniforms with the gold numbers were passable, but the white uniforms are absolutely abysmal. The only gold on the whole kit is the Nike logo. There's more gray on the jersey than there is gold. The lack of one of the team's primary colors mixed with the gradient style of the numbers made the team's white jerseys feel foreign and unfamiliar rather than new and fresh.
The alternate black jerseys look cool once you can see the details, but the problem is you can't see those details on television. You can barely see the red outline around the yellow numbers on or the black camouflage on the collar and sleeves from far away.
The team has been teasing the new look for weeks, and fan anticipation is officially at a fever pitch. This type of hype could backfire if they don't nail the look. Here's to hoping new owner Josh Harris does a bit better than his predecessor.
One week out pic.twitter.com/TU4QIe1oOG
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) April 8, 2026
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 5:23 PM.