DC Mayor: "We can't wait to welcome back the Washington Redskins."

The Redskins are off to Maryland for good. Oh wait - no they're not. Not if Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has anything to say about it.

Washington Post

At a "Qatar Day of Sport" event involving the Redskins  in Washington on Friday - the mayor of Washington D.C. apparently was preaching "not so fast, my friend!" 

With much of the reporting and rumors having the Redskins building a new stadium in Maryland at the current site of FedExField, Mayor Muriel Bowser had a message via Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaking at the event. Calls DC “The District of Champions ... and we can’t wait to welcome back the Washington Redskins.” pic.twitter.com/47Rj5pSYJf

— michael phillips (@michaelpinRVA) February 7, 2020

The problem: There's no real context. 

Bowser declined to take questions after the ceremony: “I don’t really have anything to add.”

— michael phillips (@michaelpinRVA) February 7, 2020

Bowser and the Redskins have had a cordial relationship and she has shown a desire to bring the Redskins back "home" before but the progress seemed to stall on that front over the last year or so. 

Is she saying that the RFK Stadium site is still very much a possibility? Is she giving false hope? Is she helping Dan Snyder out by giving him some public leverage for his fight against Maryland lawmakers?

It's expected that the most likely scenario for a new stadium is at the current foot print in Landover, MD but until a shovel is in the dirt - nothing is official. 

The old RFK Stadium is expected to be demolished in phases over 2021. 

It could be just a throw away line but I don't believe it is. There was a reason she did it and it didn't fall on deaf ears. 

Chris Russell is the Publisher of RedskinsReport.com & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.