Irish Breakdown

Recapping Sam Hartman's NFL Debut with Washington Commanders as Quarterback Exits with Shoulder Injury

Former Notre Dame and Wake Forest starting quarterback Sam Hartman made his NFL preseason debut against the New York Jets on Saturday. Hartman was up-and-down before leaving with a shoulder injury.

Nick Shepkowski

Aug 10, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman (11) surveys the field during the third quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Aug 10, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman (11) surveys the field during the third quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports
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Former Notre Dame and Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman made his professional debut on Saturday, seeing action in his first NFL preseason game.

Hartman's Washington Commanders were in New York (New Jersey, technically) to take on the Jets on Saturday as the undrafted rookie was given the majority of the second half for Washington.

Hartman completed 8-13 pass attempts for 83 yards, good for an average of 6.4 yards per attempt. He also added a 17-yard run on a third-and-nine that extended a Washington drive that wound up resulting in a go-ahead touchdown.

That drive wound up being the end of the game for Hartman as he was removed from the game with a shoulder injury.

Jeff Driskel replaced him the final two possessions. Driskel currently sits as Washington's third-string quarterback, a job Hartman is trying to earn.

Washington looked entirely unorganized those final two possessions as it was playing without the quarterback who is most used to playing with the majority of that personnel. Washington wound up falling to the Jets, 20-17.

The NFL posted every Sam Hartman pass attempt and rush attempt from Saturday to its YouTube channel but due to copyrights we are unable to post the video here.

In it there is a mixed bag, which Notre Dame fans probably won't be surprised to hear.

Hartman had a couple of nice throws, a few misfires, one of which he was lucky wasn't intercepted on.

Hartman didn't play poorly by any means but if he's going to be one of Washington's three quarterbacks this season, he's probably going to need to show more than he did Saturday.

Social Media Reacts to Sam Hartman's NFL Preseason Debut

Former Notre Dame offensive lineman and current sports media personality Mike Golic, Jr. reacted to Hartman's debut. I don't know what time Hartman had his 17-yard run but I would venture a guess that is when Golic sent this tweet.

My guess is that not a lot of fourth string quarterbacks could go into an opposing city to scrimmage for a few days and be leave the practice field having opposing fans seek out selfies. Even with the looks, I'm guessing there'd be significantly fewer of those photos as well if he only played collegiately at Wake Forest.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

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