A more confident Sam Howell feeling ‘light-years ahead’ of rookie season

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

Ron Rivera has had nothing but good things to say so far about Sam Howell, his young “QB1”, and it’s clear the Washington Commanders want the 22-year-old to be their starting quarterback this season. It is undoubtedly Howell’s job to lose.

They just won’t rule out the possibility that Howell will actually lose it.

That’s why when Rivera was asked what the Commanders’ biggest question was this season, he immediately said that “more than anything else, it will start with the quarterback position.”

“That,” he said, “is about as big a question as it gets.”

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And the answer might not be clear until September.

“Has Sam grown and developed enough to help us take the next step?” Rivera said. “Is Jacoby (Brissett) ready to go and compete and if he gets that chance, will he take us up to the next level? It’s a big broad question.”

Indeed it is.

The good news, so far, is that Howell — the presumed favorite to win the job — has gotten off to a good start at training camp in Ashburn, Va., after what Rivera insisted was a strong offseason for him overall. He seems to be picking up new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s offense well and his coaches and teammates have praised his leadership and his increased confidence.

Howell insisted he’s “light-years ahead” of where he was last season as a rookie, and Rivera certainly doesn’t seem to disagree.

“One of the things I really appreciated — and I go back to the Dallas game (last season) — was how he played, how he self-corrected, how he handled things, how he changed things on his own and some of his own decision-making,” Rivera said. “Those are things you want to see that tells you he is growing and he’s getting it.

“So, when you watch him in practice, watch him closely, how is he handling those type of deals? We have eyes on him and were going through and kind of nitpicking almost to make sure he’s doing those things.”

So far, they say, he is. But the truth is there’s only so much they can learn in practice. So much of their hope for Howell, a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft, is based on how he performed in that season-finale against Dallas. He showed a ton of poise in that 26-6 win — his NFL debut — completing 11 of his 19 passes with one touchdown and one interception. He ran five times for 35 yards and a touchdown, too.

And while Rivera has always insisted it was about more than just that game, that still was the moment where he earned his current “QB1” job.

But the reason Rivera only named him “QB1” for camp is because he knows he needs to see more — maybe a lot more in the Commanders’ three preseason games, which start next Friday (Aug. 11) in Cleveland. This is a crucial, must-win season for Rivera and it might take a lot for him to really put his fate in the hands of a player with one NFL game under his belt.

That’s why they brought in Brissett, a seven-year veteran who has made 48 career starts. He’s not only a veteran guide to help Howell along, he’s an insurance policy in case Howell isn’t quite ready to handle the role. It’s not clear if Brissett can actually win the job, or if Howell has to struggle and lose it. But Rivera has pointedly insisted on keeping Brissett in the conversation, such as on Wednesday when he said “don’t sleep on Jacoby. He’s done a nice job as well.”

“I mean, we got some really good quarterback play going on right now,” Rivera added. “We’ve got a real good quarterback room.”

Howell is the key to that room. Since Brissett is 30 years old, Howell is the closest thing the Commanders have to a Quarterback of the Future, and probably the only one who can do enough to convince new owner Josh Harris not to shake up the entire organization in 2024. If Brissett starts and succeeds, the Commanders will still look like a team in transition with an uncertain future.

But Howell could show the new boss that everything in Washington really is on the right track.

That’s a lot to put on him, but it hasn’t shaken him yet. In fact, that’s one of the things his teammates say they like about him: Howell doesn’t seem bothered by much at all.

“To be honest, you really don’t even see him get flustered even when he’s had a few, maybe rough patches during practice,” receiver Terry McLaurin said. “He doesn’t hang his head. He’s not yelling, cussing things like that. He’s pretty even keel, which is really unique for a young guy like that.”

Added running back Antonio Gibson: “He looks relaxed.”

“I think (I’m) just more confident,” Howell said. “More confident in the system. More comfortable in the system. I know exactly what it is. I know exactly what my job is.”

That’s good, but Rivera wants more. He said the biggest thing he wants to see from Howell this summer, “more than anything else is consistent play and growth”. He will especially want to see that in the preseason games.

When those start, Howell knows that a lot of people will be watching — from the sidelines to the owners box, to everyone in the D.C. area. And he knows that, in a division filled with quarterbacks on hundred-plus million-dollar contracts, he looks like the one that doesn’t belong.

He’s just sure that he’ll soon prove to everyone that he does.

“I know that some people might think it’s crazy just because of how the draft went and I hardly played at all last year,” he said. “But for me, it doesn’t really change anything for me. I know the type of player that I can be in this league.”

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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