The Washington Commanders proved that they wouldn’t hesitate to clean house and be aggressive with the trades they made before the deadline.
There’s a new owner in town, and the Commanders now have enough draft capital and financial flexibility to make plenty of changes in the offseason.
Obviously, that raises some questions about Sam Howell’s future with the team, as the jury is still out on the second-year quarterback, and there are reports of the organization being torn about that matter.
Nonetheless, HC Ron Rivera wanted to make it loud and clear that he fully intends to keep rolling with Howell, stating that he truly believes he’s a franchise-caliber quarterback (via Ralph Vacchiano).
Ron Rivera on QB Sam Howell and the Commanders’ long search for a franchise quarterback:
“I know this franchise has been looking for quite some time and for the first time in a while, I think that that guy might be here. I really do.” pic.twitter.com/1lq7h7qMT2
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) November 1, 2023
Rivera acknowledged that the Commanders had been looking for a franchise QB for quite a while, and he now thinks they’ve finally found it.
That’s a lot to say, considering the last franchise-caliber QB they had was Kirk Cousins, although others believe it was Robert Griffin III before the franchise failed him and destroyed his career.
Howell has had his fair share of ups and downs, just like most young QBs.
He’s currently sixth in the league in both passing touchdowns (13) and passing yards (2,146), but he’s also second in interceptions (8), with half of those picks coming in that tough loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Howell still has half of the season to prove that he can be their guy.
And unless the Commanders are sure they can get someone significantly better than him right now, it would be wise of them to continue developing their young signal-caller.
NEXT:
Insider Discusses Ron Rivera’s Job Security After Trade Deadline
