The Washington Commanders made it official on Friday. Sam Howell will be the team’s starting quarterback for Washington’s season-opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
The second-year quarterback beat out veteran Jacoby Brissett to get the job and to lead the Commanders into the 2023 season.
Washington had a preseason game against the Browns, where Howell played fairly well, and the Commanders had joint practices with the Ravens this week. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Howell’s performance against the Ravens got him the job.
“I think after the first practice against Baltimore,” Rivera said. “That was the high watermark for me in terms of having to see him show us that he is capable of doing the things that we need him to do. You know, it was a very good day.
“There was a lot of positive things that came out of it, and blocking the tape back at the office I had at the hotel, a little room I had, I kept thinking to myself, you know, that’s what I wanted to see, that’s what I wanted to see. And so I wanted to make sure that when we got back yesterday, we had an opportunity because the players were off. I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to talk about what we’re seeing and make sure it was the things that we needed to see, and we all agreed. So, I just feel confident enough going and comfortable enough to say that Sam’s our guy, and we really think that he’s done those things.”
Howell is appreciative of the opportunity.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that the coaches have given me,” Howell said. “Shout out to [Head] Coach [Ron] Rivera for just believing in me and always trusting me really since I got here. I just shout out to him and all my coaches, [Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator] [Eric Bieniemy] EB, [Quarterbacks Coach] Tavita [Pritchard], [Senior Offensive Advisor/Game Management] [Ken] Zampese, [Assistant Quarterbacks/Offensive Quality Control] Luke [Del Rio], all the guys, [QB] Jacob [Brissett].”
Throughout the QB competition, the 22-year-old was confident in his ability to get the job done.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I’m always confident in my abilities just to come out here and perform and do well for this football team,” he said. “I think just throughout camp every single day, I’ve gotten better and more comfortable, and I feel like I’m in a really good place right now with the offense. I feel really good going out there every single day, and I feel good about my chances to go out there and execute.”
The Commanders made the right move in making the fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft the team’s starting quarterback. We know what Brissett is as a player, but we need to know what Howell can be, and the team should give him an opportunity to be the team’s franchise quarterback.
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