Hogs Haven
A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, and a sprinkling of other stuff
According to a Washington Post-Schar School poll, half of all D.C.-area adults now ‘like’ or ‘love’ the team’s name, up from 34 percent a year ago.
According to a Washington Post-Schar School poll, 61 percent of D.C.-area sports fans are fans of the Commanders, up from 45 percent of area sports fans a year ago. Among all D.C.-area residents, 53 percent say they are Commanders fans, while 45 percent do not root for the team. In 2023, 31 percent of D.C.-area residents said they were Commanders fans or that the Commanders were their favorite local team.
What’s more: Half of all D.C.-area adults now “like” or “love” the team’s name, which was changed in 2022 and became a hot-button issue for many fans who either clamored for a return to the franchise’s previous name, Redskins, or sought an alternative. In 2024, only 34 percent liked or loved the new name.
About a third of area residents do not like the name (36 percent), with 9 percent saying they “hate” it.
Harris made it clear in February, however, that the team will stick with Commanders.
“I think it’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,” he said. “And so we’re going with that.”
Team merchandise sales through retail giant Fanatics from April 1, 2024**,** through the end of March were up 163 percent, according to a team spokesperson, and Daniels’s jersey ended the regular season as the site’s top-selling NFL jersey.
“It’s cool. It’s catchy,” said Kady Wilson, a D.C. resident and Commanders fan. “I like it better than the Redskins.”
The Athletic (paywall)
Connections abound in Washington for Welker, a four-time All-Pro and NFL assistant coach since 2017, when he joined the organization as a personnel analyst in April. The receiver-returner formed a dynamic combination at Texas Tech with his college quarterback, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Welker served on three NFL staffs with general manager Adam Peters. Welker hooked up with the Commanders weeks after the trade for Samuel, a former pupil in San Francisco.
Welker’s 2019-2021 stint as the 49ers receivers coach coincided with Samuel’s first three NFL seasons and lone Pro Bowl nod.
Wake me up if there’s no new agreement before training camp. Unless McLaurin’s age (30 in September) becomes an outsized factor — Tyreek Hill (31) is the only receiver among the 15 highest paid older than the 2024 second-team All-Pro — the eventual deal will likely fall somewhere between annual salaries for Tee Higgins ($28.75 million) and D.K. Metcalf ($33 million).
Coleman...
