Redwolves Reportedly Gaining Steam As The New Washington Redskins Name

There is a growing push to rename the Washington Redskins, the Washington Redwolves. Dean Straka of 247Sports wrote on Friday that the push to become the Redwolves is getting traction with fans, but also with former Redskins players.

Sam Fortier of the Washington Post posted on Twitter that defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was very supportive of the potential new name when he appeared on a Twitch stream. Former Redskins linebacker Will Compton sent out his support in a tweet that Fortier featured, showing what the uniform could look like if the franchise chose the Redwolves name. The tweet featured the caption “a wolf doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of sheep.”

Compton added in his tweet that if Washington became the Redwolves, he’d come back to town simply to retire as a member of that team. He also gave a shoutout to the fans who were pushing for that particular change.

Fortier reported a petition is circulating to make the Redwolves the official replacement for the Redskins. He added the petition has garnered around 3,500 signatures so far.

While Compton’s post showed an actual wolf, the name can actually be attributed to several different sources. Redwolves are an endangered species that are known to roam the southeastern United States. In the military, a team called the Redwolves have been part of a support squad for Navy SEAL operations.

Straka said the Redskins owner has not yet given any indication of what name the team could be leaning towards. In the past, the owner has been steadfast in his comments that he would never change from the Redskins. That changed late last month when public pressure from business partners and online retailers led to the front office issuing a statement saying it was going to conduct a thorough review.

Many analysts throughout the NFL said the team wouldn’t have announced a review if the end result wasn’t going to be a new moniker. Other reports came out shortly after that claimed the team wanted to have its new name in place before the 2020 NFL season kicks off. That would mean Snyder and his front office have a little over two months to get it done.

Other names for the Redkins have made the rounds on social media since the review was announced but Redwolves has reportedly had the most widespread appeal.

Changing the official name to the Redwolves, or anything other than the Redskins, isn’t popular in all corners. President Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week that he felt the current name conveyed strength and that bowing to public pressure for a change didn’t show strength at all.