The path for the Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended early Saturday with a postmidnight reprieve.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution to transfer the land including old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed by voice vote at roughly 1:15 a.m. after more than a year of lobbying and support from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., district Mayor Muriel Bowser, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, D.C., the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site,” Harris said. “This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”

Giving the local government control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise’s former home.

“We appreciate the bipartisan group of Congressional leaders who made this important breakthrough possible,” the NFL said in a statement. “Washington, D.C., will now have a long-overdue seat at the table when it comes to the location of a new Commanders stadium.”

Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are also considering other places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a stadium.

Their lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at RFK Stadium 2 miles east of the Capitol from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland.

Barmore’s health concern for mayo

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo says there’s been no discussion about defensive tackle Christian Barmore’s future beyond helping him return to health after landing on the reserve non-football illness list.

The team didn’t specify why the 25-year-old was placed on the season-ending list ahead of today’s visit to Buffalo, saying in a statement Friday that “he experienced some recurring symptoms that required further evaluation.”

Barmore missed the first 10 games of the season after being diagnosed with blood clots shortly after the start of training camp. He made his season debut Nov. 17 and appeared in each of New England’s past four games.

“I feel for Bar,” Mayo said. “He did everything right, and for those things to pop back up, just unfortunate.”

On the heels of a 2023 season that included a career-best 8 1/2 sacks and 65 tackles, this spring Barmore signed a four-year contract worth up to $92 million.

His absence for most of the season has been felt on a defense that ranks 28th in the NFL with 27 sacks.

Good news for ailing lions defense

The Lions activated safety Ifeatu Melifonwu from injured reserve, putting him a step closer to making his season debut.

Melifonwu was listed as questionable due to a hand injury for today’s game at Chicago.

Safety Brian Branch (calf) and guard Graham Glasgow (knee) were also questionable for the Bears game.

Detroit did not list center Frank Ragnow (back) or linebacker Trevor Nowaske (concussion) on the injury report, and both are expected to play.