The Washington Commanders have apparently seen enough.
There’s no reason for a 4-11 team to make a quarterback change with two games left, but Washington is doing so anyway. Jacoby Brissett will start in Week 17. Sam Howell heads to the bench. The team announced the move on Wednesday.
It made sense for the Commanders to continue with Howell, a second-year player who had shown some promise. Giving Howell time to play allowed the Commanders to have a fair evaluation of him going into the offseason.
Benching Howell now probably means they know what they have.
Commanders bench Sam Howell
It’s possible the Commanders are benching Howell because they are worried about his confidence being permanently shot. Commanders coach Ron Rivera said it didn’t speak to what the team thinks of Howell in the future, though that’s hard to believe. It’s also unlikely Rivera is back next season.
“This is not an indictment on Sam or how my feelings on him have changed,” Rivera told the media. “I really do think this guy can be a really good quarterback in this league. I really do.”
Rivera said “we’re all culpable” in the situation and it’s part of Howell’s growth as a young player. But if there is a new coaching staff soon, it seems unlikely they’d want to go into their first season with Howell, based on what he has shown on tape lately.
Howell has struggled badly the past few weeks. He has thrown for 127 yards or fewer in each of Washington’s past three games. In each of the past two games, Brissett replaced Howell and played much better in relief. The low point for Howell came Sunday when he completed just 6-of-22 passes for 56 yards with two interceptions. He had a 1.7 passer rating. He had some dropped passes but still played poorly.
It probably isn’t just an attempt to save his confidence, however. Howell was making some progress in the middle of the season. At one point he led the NFL in passing yards. He wasn’t great, but he was a fifth-round pick who was seemingly getting better. The past few weeks have overshadowed any of that progress and likely cost Howell a shot to get a vote of confidence for the 2024 season.
It’s back to Brissett, with a long offseason ahead.
What will Commanders do at QB?
The Commanders are in good draft position, but still unlikely to land one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft. They currently have the third pick, barely ahead of the New England Patriots due to a strength of schedule tiebreaker. There are two elite quarterback prospects in the 2024 draft, and the Commanders won’t have a shot at either of them unless the Arizona Cardinals lose another game or Washington trades up.
There are other viable quarterback prospects in the draft, even if they’re not on the level of Caleb WIlliams or Drake Maye. The Commanders could look into a trade up to No. 1 or No. 2, though it wouldn’t be cheap. They can peruse the free-agent or trade options.
But whatever the plans are, it seems unlikely that Howell will be any more than a fallback option if everything else falls through. That’s a disappointing way to end Howell’s season, which did have a little bit of promise for a while. But the Commanders couldn’t even finish their lost season with him as their starter.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
