Commanders make long-awaited QB call, name Sam Howell starter

ASHBURN, Va. – One of the few remaining training camp quarterback battles in the NFL officially ended Friday.

Not that it was much of a competition to begin with.

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera confirmed Sam Howell will be the team’s starter behind center to start the 2023 season. The team, which has lacked quarterback stability during Rivera’s tenure, brought in Jacoby Brissett to challenge Howell, a fifth-round pick in 2022 out of North Carolina.

“He and Jacoby are at two different points in his career,” Rivera said before practice Friday. “To me, the guy who’s ascending, growing into it, compared to the guy who’s already there, you got to look at that.”  

Howell entered the offseason program and training camp with the leg up and kept it that way, Rivera said, demonstrating growth in the necessary areas while installing Eric Bieniemy’s new offense. Rivera made the decision Thursday after the team's joint practices against the Baltimore Ravens this week and in consultation with Bieniemy and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard.

A three-year starter in college for the Tar Heels, Howell threw for more than 3,000 yards in all three seasons. He had 38 touchdowns in 2019, his freshman year, and after that season was considered a future top five pick, although his performance the next two seasons saw him slip to Washington late in the 2022 draft.

“It means a lot," Howell said. "To have this opportunity in front of me means everything to me, but I think all of my work is ahead of me, and I know this is only the beginning."

Behind Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke on the depth chart for most of last season, Howell – inactive for nine games – saw his first NFL action by starting the Commanders’ final game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Howell was 11-for-19 with one touchdown and one interception against one of the league’s better defenses playing its starters in a 26-6 win.

From there, it was Howell’s job to lose. More than eight months later, he was declared the victor.

“I didn’t have any doubt,” Rivera said.

"I think he's in a really good spot," the coach added. "I think he's right now a more than serviceable quarterback. He's a guy that's growing. He's a guy that can win, I believe."