For years, Washington fans were struggling with stadium rumors, name changes, and the eerie echoes of ‘what used to be.’ Then there was a shift, a real one. A new owner. A trip to the NFC Championship game (since 1991) and a rookie quarterback who didn’t falter. All of a sudden, the term ‘future’ was no longer laughable. The colors never left. Burgundy and gold still filled the stands, still found their way onto car flags and childhood sweatshirts tucked away in Maryland basements. For many longtime Washington fans, the connection never truly disappeared. A generation that grew up with Art Monk and Darrell Green began wondering if their kids would ever care about Sundays the same way. It turns out that Josh Harris, the billionaire fanboy-turned-franchise fixer, cares. 

Harris remembers. He talks about growing up in Chevy Chase as if he never really left. As if Jack Kent Cooke Stadium still echoed with Joe Gibbs’ voice. “I experienced first-hand the excitement around the team,” Harris said last year. “Including its three Super Bowl victories and long-term winning culture.” Since taking over as managing partner, Harris hasn’t just tried to repair the organization; he’s made a point to honor the parts worth salvaging. In February, he met with reporters and made his intentions plain: “We’re going to head back toward honoring our past and bringing together the future.”

The Commanders are set to unveil a new alternate uniform and helmet on July 9, according to a report by SportsLogos.net. While the organization has not released visuals or specific color layouts, the design is expected to lean into the franchise’s most iconic visual elements: traditional burgundy and gold, vintage striping, and possibly an era-specific number font. There will be no name change, no full-scale branding overhaul. But this is the first tangible step toward closing the emotional gap between what Washington was and what it’s trying to become.

In other words, don’t anticipate a complete Redskins makeover. But yes, some changes are expected. The current jerseys are frequently criticised for appearing a bit too red. Ironically, when the Commanders unveiled their redesign in 2022, they already attempted to appeal to the legacy.

That launch featured three uniforms loaded with symbolism: Shoulder stripes meant to echo past Super Bowl teams. DC flag-inspired stars on the collar. And military-style fonts were embedded in the numbers. Even the black alternates had camo elements and military nametape placements, a direct nod to Washington’s ties to the armed forces.

That’s what makes this new alternate reveal interesting. It sounds like Harris isn’t introducing something new. He’s finally finishing what the franchise tried to start in 2022. 

At RFK, in the team’s most dominant years, the uniform hues were woven into the city’s rhythm. They appeared on pennants in rowhouse windows, in marching band uniforms, in parking lots full of charcoal smoke on fall mornings. For Harris, tapping into that isn’t about appeasing tradition. It’s about recovering the parts of the franchise that never needed fixing. The uniform won’t solve Washington’s branding dilemma overnight. But it might, for a moment, remind people what Sundays used to feel like.

RFK hopes fade as D.C. politics complicate Josh Harris’ vision

Josh Harris had a vision. A big one. Bring football back to RFK. Build a $3.8 billion stadium that screams ‘renaissance.’ Add housing, parks, and shopping. It wasn’t just about football. It was about getting the Commanders back home. And the early signs looked good. Harris had the funding plan: $2.7 billion in private money, $1.1 billion in public funds. Mayor Bowser was in. Even the fans started dreaming again.

But on July 1, reality checked in. Appearing on The Kevin Sheehan Show, Mayor Bowser was asked how concerned she was—on a scale of 0 to 5—that the RFK deal could fall apart. “I’ll put it at a four,” she said. But she clarified: “I believe I’m not concerned about our deal…at the end of the day, I think everybody wants the same thing.”

And things aren’t moving fast enough. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson isn’t in a rush either. “It would be incredibly extraordinary to call the Council back in August,” he said, noting no precedent in 50 years of home rule. He did promise a vote on the financing portion by July 15. But not the full package. That might not happen until mid-September. That’s two months after the deadline.

The stakes are massive. If there’s no deal by July 15, Harris can reopen talks with Virginia or Maryland. That D.C. homecoming? Back on the market. Josh Harris is doing what no owner before him has managed to do in decades. He’s actually rebuilding the soul of Washington football. But while the uniform reveal might earn standing ovations, the RFK standoff shows how fragile progress still is.