ASHBURN, VA (WTKR)- It's been long thought, but the Washington Commanders will have a new starting quarterback in 2024.
The Commanders announced Thursday night that they have traded Sam Howell and a fourth-round and sixth-round draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a third-round and fifth-round pick.
The trade gives the burgundy and gold six draft picks in the top 100 next month.
Howell started all 17 games for Washington in 2023, throwing for 3,946 yards, 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He led the NFL with 612 pass attempts and was sacked a league-high 65 times.
The second-year quarterback seemed to be in a zone midway through the season, leading the NFL in passing yards through 10 weeks. However, Howell would slump down the stretch, throwing just four touchdowns over the course of his final seven games to go along with 12 interceptions. The Commanders would finish the season 4-13 and ended on an eight-game losing streak.
The move is not totally unexpected. Washington announced the signing of Marcus Mariota on Wednesday and is expected to select a quarterback with the number two overall pick in April's NFL Draft. Mariota spent last season as Jalen Hurts's back-up in Philadelphia and was previously a starter for the Titans and the Falcons.
Quarterback has been a revolving door for the franchise. 17 different players have started a game at the position since the start of the 2018 season. Prior to Howell last season, Kirk Cousins was the last QB to start every game in a season, doing so from 2015-2017.
New general manager Adam Peters and his staff have been aggressive during the free agent period in their efforts to revamp the roster. The team announced the signing of defensive end Dorance Armstrong on Thursday and has also added Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell, along with linebackers Bobby Wagner, Anthony Pittman and Frankie Luvu and safety Jeremy Chinn.
