ASHBURN, Va. - It was expected, but Ron Rivera wanted to discuss things with his staff before making it official.
Now the Commanders are moving forward with their QB1.
In a move many saw coming, Rivera announced that Sam Howell will be the team's starting quarterback when Washington hosts the Cardinals during the first week of the NFL season.
Howell had been seeing nearly every single one of the reps with the first team throughout camp. He beat out Jacoby Brissett in a competition that never really gained steam and did not see much controversy.
"He's basically met the challenge that we talked about," Rivera said on Friday. "That was seeing the growth and improvement from OTA's and mini-camp and then talked about going into training camp and continuing to grow and show us what he's capable of and we've been very pleased with it."
Howell's overall sample size is small, starting one NFL game his rookie year and leading the team to an upset 26-6 victory over Dallas in the 2022 season finale. He threw for a touchdown and rushed for another score during that contest.
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Commanders, Howell was the number three quarterback for most of his rookie year behind Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke.
After Wentz was cut and Heinicke departed for Atlanta, Rivera said Howell would be the starter entering offseason workouts, but would still have to earn the spot.
"Everybody knew from my perspective it was Sam's to lose," Rivera noted. "He did nothing to lose it."
The North Carolina product has received praise from coaches and teammates throughout camp, in addition to some constructive criticism that most young quarterbacks receive. He completed nine of his 12 pass attempts for 77 yards during last Friday's preseason game at Cleveland and the team was happy with his performance during the two-day joint practice session with the Ravens earlier this week.
“I just take it one day at a time and try to do everything I can to take advantage of the opportunity that I do have and take advantage of those first team reps that I have right now and try to do everything I can to solidify myself as this title," Howell said following Wednesday's joint practice at Baltimore. "The title doesn't change anything from a work standpoint."
Washington meets the Ravens in preseason game number two on Monday night at FedEx Field. The team's regular season opener is September 10 when the Commanders host Arizona.
