With Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams now less than two weeks away, there has been a lot going on in the NFL besides preparing for the upcoming matchup. Here’s the latest news in the league leading up to the game on February 13:

Washington Football Team Reveals New Name

The Washington Football Team has finally revealed the new name for the franchise. They will officially be known as the Washington Commanders. After retiring the old team name and logo back in 2020, the team has agreed upon the new name after 18 months of fan submissions, extensive research, and various focus groups helping in the quest. 

The old “Redskins” moniker has been under controversy for many years and started to feel more public pressure after the events of the summer of 2020 in which George Floyd was murdered. In 2013, Team owner Dan Snyder vowed that the team would never change the name. However, it had no choice but to yield to the recent pressure from the public and some of their major partners such as Walmart, Nike, and Amazon. They all started to remove the team’s gear from their websites. 

Team President Jason Wright said the name was decided about a month ago and has been kept under wraps until today’s announcement. He also said he hopes the team’s new name will make the fans happy. 

Flores Files Class-Action Suit Against NFL  

Recently fired Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Football League and all 32 teams, accusing them of racial discrimination in their hiring process. Flores has specifically named four teams, including his recent employer, the Miami Dolphins. 

The suit accuses Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering Flores $100,000 for each loss the Dolphins had in 2019 to hopefully give them a higher position in the next season’s draft. It also says Ross wanted the coach to “tamper” with a quarterback on the team, which he refused to do. 

Flores interviewed on Tuesday for the head-coaching job in New Orleans as well as the Bears and Texans in the last few weeks. In his accusations against the Giants, Flores says he received text messages from Patriots coach Bill Belichick that were meant for Brian Daboll, who was the choice for the Giants’ job. The messages allegedly show that Daboll had already been given the head coaching job three days before Flores interviewed for the position. 

Burrow and Stafford Prepare for Championship Game

The matchup has been set for Super Bowl LVI as the Cincinnati Bengals must play a road game in this matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. This will be an exciting matchup between two elite quarterbacks. 

Joe Burrow is only in his second season in the league. If he can win this game, he’ll be the first starting quarterback in history to win a National Championship, a Heisman Trophy, and a Super Bowl. 

Rams starting QB Matthew Stafford, who was traded from the Detroit Lions for Jared Goff in the offseason, won his first playoff game this year after spending twelve years with his former team. He is on the verge of playing in his first Super Bowl and still has a lot of support from the fans in Detroit.