ASHBURN — The Washington Commanders named Sam Howell as their starting quarterback for this upcoming season, coach Ron Rivera announced Friday.
The announcement put an end to what had been Howell’s job to lose as the Commanders turned to the second-year quarterback this offseason to win the role. Despite Washington signing veteran Jacoby Brissett in March, Howell was named “QB1” early in the offseason and was given practically all the first team reps throughout practices.
Howell, a fifth-round pick in 2022, has just one career start — a Week 18 win over the Dallas Cowboys. But he impressed coaches in that game, and he’s only continued to show improvement since then. Rivera has repeatedly praised Howell’s decision-making and how the 22-year-old has stayed level-headed over the course of camp.
“I never had any doubt,” Rivera said when asked if he ever wavered on Howell in camp.
Still, Rivera had waited until now to make his decision — even though it was an obvious choice from the start. The coach had long-circled this week’s joint practices against the Baltimore Ravens as a key test for Howell, and he wanted to see how the signal-caller would respond against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Howell passed that test with flying colors, Rivera said.
With Washington’s players having an off day Thursday, Rivera said he, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard met to discuss the team’s quarterback situation. They all landed on Howell.
“He’s basically met the challenges we’ve talked about,” Rivera said. “We’ve been very pleased with him.”
Howell will make his first start of the season on Sept. 10 when the Commanders host the Arizona Cardinals.
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