The Washington Commanders are retiring Art Monk’s jersey number

The Washington Commanders announced today that they will be retiring Art Monk’s jersey(#81) during their Week 9 game against the Seattle Seahawks. This will also be the first time during the season they are wearing their new alternate, “Super Bowl era” white jerseys.

Art Monk was a big part of the Washington Redskins three Super Bowl-winning seasons, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008 alongside fellow Redskins legend Darrell Green. Monk is also in Washington’s Ring of Fame.

Monk’s #81 joins a small list of jersey numbers that have been retired over the team’s 3-year history. He will be the 6th player to have their number retired, following his former teammate Darrell Green last season.

“You showed us what greatness looked like every single day in your work ethic and your humility and how you carried this franchise with dignity,” Clark told Monk. “You changed the standard for wide receivers not just here in Washington, but across the league.”

Monk knows he was a great wide receiver — there is too much evidence to suggest otherwise. His teammates will point to how hard he worked every day, practiced hard so he could be available each Sunday, and his consistent reliable production. They will point to how good of person he was and how he was there for them, both on and off the field, as the reason why it is an easy decision for the team to honor Monk in a manner that Clark said “should have been done a long time ago.”

Monk, however, would point his finger back at them.

“I can sit here and take all the credit, but a lot of the credit also goes to them and to the rest of my teammates because a team is a team,” Monk said. “One could not do their job without the other.”