The football world has been operating under the assumption that Sam Howell will be the Commanders starting quarterback for quite a while and the team has finally made it official.
Head coach Ron Rivera was not willing to call Howell the team’s starter earlier this week, but he changed his tune on Friday morning. Rivera confirmed that Howell will be under center when the Commanders host the Cardinals in Week One of the regular season.
Rivera said that Howell met the challenge that the Commanders laid out for him to earn the job.
“We’ve talked about seeing the growth and improvement from OTAs and minicamp,” Rivera said, via JP Finlay of NBCSportsWashington.com. “Talked about going into training camp and continuing to grow and show us what he’s capable of. We’ve been very pleased with it.”
The Commanders have started a lot of quarterbacks in recent years without finding a lasting leader. They’re hoping Howell’s ascension puts an end to the revolving door at the team’s most important position.