It was all the way back in February when Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera labeled quarterback Sam Howell as “QB1” heading into the offseason.
He repeated that stance on multiple occasions, including after the offseason program, saying Howell would head into training camp as “QB1.” Rivera declined multiple opportunities to pursue veteran starters or trade up for a rookie, insisting Howell deserved every opportunity to compete to be Washington’s starting quarterback.
The Commanders signed Jacoby Brissett to compete with Howell. To mentor Howell. However, the mission was always clear: Washington was all-in on Howell for 2023 — and perhaps beyond.
After a strong performance in the preseason opener, Howell continued that momentum this week in Washington’s joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens.
When the Commanders’ joint practices concluded Wednesday, Rivera was asked if he was ready to name a starting quarterback.
“Well, again, I said I gotta sit down with both [OC] Eric [Bieniemy] and [QB coach] Tavita [Pritchard] and really evaluate it and make sure he’s doing the things that we need him to do,” Rivera said.
“And yesterday, he had a really good day. We’re really pleased with it after having to watch the tape, and we’ll see how it is after we get a chance to watch this tape together. We’re traveling today, so we’ll sit down tomorrow and go through it and talk about Sam and really just evaluate that and evaluate Jacoby as well. I mean, Jacoby did some really good things, too, so we feel really comfortable about the quarterback room right now.”
Rivera didn’t say it officially, but there’s no way Howell isn’t starting Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Rivera further elaborated on Howell’s performances in the practices against Baltimore.
“I think that’s one of the things that we were hoping is that when we got out here, and the stuff was pretty close to real, see how he handled it, and he handled it well, and he made some real good decisions,” Rivera said. “As I said, his ball placement was really good. His decision-making was exceptionally good, and he delivered on time for the most part.”
Was this really ever a true quarterback competition? Howell was going to need to lose the job more than Brissett needed to win it. But it’s important to note that Howell has done nothing to lose the job. In fact, he’s been the best quarterback on the roster, and that’s no slight toward Brissett. Howell has been good.
So while Rivera didn’t name a starting quarterback on Wednesday, it’s only a matter of time.
