When the Washington Commanders signed quarterback Jacoby Brissett this offseason to compete with Sam Howell, they knew, at the least, they’d have one of the NFL’s best backup quarterbacks.
Brissett was a priority in free agency, landing a one-year deal worth $8 million. However, throughout Washington’s offseason, Howell has worked with the first team. After a slow start in OTAs, Brissett came on during minicamp and closed the gap.
Head coach Ron Rivera said that Howell did enough this offseason to enter training camp as “QB1” but refused to name him the starter.
While it appears that Howell is trending to be the starting quarterback for Week 1, Brissett can’t be counted out.
Former NFL head coach and longtime assistant Marty Mornhinweg recently named his list of the league’s top 10 backup quarterbacks for The 33rd Team. He shows some respect to Brissett, slotting him at No. 4.
I’m a little biased toward Jacoby Brissett because my older son Skylar played with him at the University of Florida. Brissett is 30, and he’s got an 84.4 passer rating in 48 starts in his seven-year career. He’s one of the more experienced backups.
His 48-23 touchdown-to-interception ratio is pretty good. He still possesses good movement and running ability. Brissett has proven he can come in and win games. He’s one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the NFL and should be starting somewhere.
Fair enough. Many consider Brissett the NFL’s top backup, or at least in the top three, with Andy Dalton often ranked ahead of him. Dalton is a longtime successful starter who has done well in recent seasons as a backup. That makes sense.
Mornhinweg has Dalton at No. 2 behind Tyrod Taylor [New York Giants]. At No. 3, he has Cooper Rush ahead of Brissett.
You can make the argument for Taylor being ahead of Brissett. Not for Rush. Yes, the Cowboys played well with Rush under center last season, going 4-1 as the starting quarterback. Rush also has an excellent cast around him on offense and defense.
Brissett has a much longer track record of success.
While Washington is thrilled to have Brissett, the hope is he doesn’t play in 2023, as that would mean Howell has enjoyed success.
