Sam Howell will begin training camp as the Commanders’ QB1. Ron Rivera reaffirmed that decision at the end of the team’s offseason program.
Will Howell hold onto the job for the start of the season?
Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com reports that turnovers were “a regular occurrence” for Howell in the offseason practices. If that continues into training camp and the preseason, Howell isn’t likely to keep the job for long with veteran Jacoby Brissett behind him.
But Rivera, offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Eric Bieniemy and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard remain confident in Howell.
“His demeanor does not change, and he’s very, very competitive,” Bieniemy said during last month’s OTA period, via Standig. “And I will say this: He autocorrects himself as well because he knows exactly what he did and what he should have done, which is a good thing.”
There is a reason Howell once was projected as a first-round draft pick and a potential top pick. There also is a reason Howell fell to the fifth round -- 144th overall -- in 2022.
Howell has limited NFL experience, so the sample size is too small for anyone to know what he really is.
He led the league in passing yards during the preseason but didn’t see his first regular-season action until a Week 18 start against the Cowboys. Howell saw action on 66 snaps and threw but 19 passes in a victory over Dallas. It was enough to convince the Commanders to give Howell the first shot at the job for 2023.
Howell was the Commanders’ 12th starting quarterback the past five years, and they are hoping he keeps the job for the foreseeable future.
He still has a lot to learn, however, and a lot still to prove.
“That’s another thing that’s really impressed me: Sam’s ability to not make the same mistake twice,” Pritchard said last week. “Having that awareness is hard enough. Then to have the humility and the fortitude to go forward and go, ‘OK, I’m going to correct that,’ that’s impressive.”
