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Washington Football Team narrows down nickname list

Washington Football Team quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick, left, and Steven Montez take the field during practice in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday. (AP photo)

RICHMOND, Va. — Washington Football President Jason Wright said Thursday the organization has significantly trimmed the list of potential team names, with the unveiling expected before the 2022 NFL draft.

In an interview with The Associated Press at a community event coinciding with training camp in Virginia’s capital, Wright said Washington is trying to be transparent with the rebranding process. He declined to reveal how many names were still under consideration.

“We have them narrowed down substantially,” Wright told The AP. “So, there’s a small set of names that have been crafted into full visuals and logos and all that stuff that we’re going back and forth on.”

The Washington Football Team is the official name for a second consecutive season after the club abandoned its old moniker in July 2020. Wright, who was hired in August, has said the new name will not have any Native American connotations or imagery.

Wright has blogged about choosing a name that honors the franchise’s history, which includes three Super Bowl titles. Asked directly if a name had already been selected, he said, “I don’t want to scoop our team.”

Washington Football Team defensive tackle Jonathan Allen gestures during a game against the Dallas Cowboys in Landover, Md., on Oct. 25. Washington signed star defensive tackle Jonathan Allen on the eve of training camp to a $72 million, four-year contract extension with a $30 million signing bonus. Allen's agency, Team IFA, announced the terms of the deal in a Twitter post on Monday. (AP file photo)

“It’s like a family heirloom and stewarding the movement of family heirloom is a weighty thing,” he told Washington radio station WTOP on Thursday. “It’s incredibly important we do the best we can to steward this right.”

Long before Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians abruptly announced on Twitter last week that they are becoming the Guardians, Washington has been focused on transparency as part of the process so that fans can understand how the final decision was reached. More than 25,000 names were submitted, with alumni, season-ticket holders, women, military members and children among the digital focus groups the team canvassed for opinions.

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