A new era for the Washington Commanders is set to truly get underway Thursday night with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Before that, though, the Commanders and owner Josh Harris paid homage to the glory days of yesteryear as the franchise announced it will retire Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green's jersey No. 28 during the upcoming regular season.
"For 20 years, Darrell Green gave everything he had to this organization and fanbase," Harris said in a statement released by the team. "Even after retiring from the burgundy and gold, he remained committed to giving back to this community, which to this day holds him in the highest regard," said Managing Partner Josh Harris, of the Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient. "No one on our team will ever again wear No. 28. Thank you, Darrell, for embodying what it means to be a Washington football player, both on and off the field."
Green received the news by reading it to himself, as seen in a marvelous video released by the club.
The recognition for Green is long overdue as the former cornerback is not just one of the franchise's greatest players of all time, but an NFL great of the highest order.
"The Ageless Wonder" played 20 seasons – all for Washington. Taken in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft at No. 28 overall, Green was 23 as a rookie and 42 in 2002, his final campaign after playing in parts of three decades. In between, Green, long regarded as one of the league's fastest players, earned seven Pro Bowl trips, was the 1996 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, was a member of Hall of Fame All-1990s Teams, won two Super Bowls and was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
"I am beyond grateful for this honor and to new ownership, who embraced my wife and me from day one," Green, 63, said. "I played my whole career here, met my wife here, served my church and community here, and I am humbled to have my jersey retired here. The team means everything to this community, and I am encouraged not only for us to win a Super Bowl, but to win the community back."
