The Washington Commanders continue doing things the right way. Just days after revealing their Super Bowl Era throwback uniforms to widespread approval, the team announced it will retire the number of a legend who helped define that era’s success. The announcement ties into the team’s renewed embrace of its past, coinciding with its 93rd anniversary celebration.
Drafted in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft out of Syracuse, receiver Art Monk spent 14 seasons with the Redskins, making it to three Pro Bowls and winning three Super Bowls in the process. A member of the 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class, Monk is the second legend to have his number retired since Josh Harris took over as managing partner of the Commanders franchise, a sign that even more could be coming.
In his 14 seasons with Washington, Monk racked up nearly 900 receptions, over 12,000 receiving yards, caught 65 touchdowns, and remains the franchise's all-time leading receiver to this day.
The franchise will recognize Monk and retire his number forever on November 2 when it hosts the Seattle Seahawks and wears the uniform the receiver and his teammates inspired for the first time in 2025.
"I've been sitting here these last few days just trying to digest it all," Monk said in a story published by Commanders senior writer Zach Selby.
Younger fans who have known Monk only through family stories or NFL Films clips will now gain a fresh, firsthand moment that connects those tales to their own memories.
In a video shared by the team, Monk is surprised by several legends of the organization and members of the franchise's leadership, including former quarterback Doug Williams and Harris himself.
The move is being well-received by fans who continue to praise the organization for the new direction it has taken since being sold to the group led by Harris. As Washington continues to do whatever it can to link the future to the past once again, Monk looked back with Selby on the great times he had as part of The Posse and The Fun Bunch during his time as a Redskin.
"No matter where we were...it was just a lot of fun," Monk said. "We laughed all the time but we also took our job seriously. But during the offseason, we just enjoyed being around each other. We fed off of each other; we challenged each other. We helped make each other what we ended up becoming."
Monk is known to those around the franchise for his humility as much as he is for his production on the football field. "Dating back to when he was playing with his friends in the street with a half-inflated football...He played because he loved the sport and did not expect any awards or accolades in return, which was partly why he was so beloved by his teammates," Selby wrote about the receiver.
Clearly, Monk would be as welcome in Dan Quinn's locker room as he was in Joe Gibbs'. That, too, is likely no coincidence. If you want to find a player of the past who embodies the culture of today, you can't get much closer than Monk.
Now, after Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season, whether it is in Landover or DC, every Washington football fan will get to celebrate the legend of Art Monk and the special place he holds in the history of one of the NFL’s most storied franchises.
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