The Commanders have given Sam Howell the first-team work at quarterback throughout their offseason program, but head coach Ron Rivera said on Tuesday that the team is still running a competition for the position.
Howell’s opposition in that competition is Jacoby Brissett and he had a turn with reporters after Rivera’s press conference. Brissett said that he and Howell have been competing to put their “best foot forward” over the course of the spring as well as “working with each other” to make sure the team is prepared to win in the fall.
Brissett also made it clear that he would like to be the guy under center once the regular season is underway.
“For sure. I wouldn’t be here if it was something else,” Brissett said. “If I thought otherwise, then I’d have a problem. . . . Anybody that steps on the field, we’re all in competition. Somebody is trying to take our jobs, somebody’s trying to earn a job. That’s what it is every day in this league. I’ve been in this league a while and that has always stuck with me and this year is no different.”
Rivera said it would be “unfair to start making assessments” until games start being played. That won’t be until August, so there’s a lot of time for the picture to change at quarterback in Washington.