Sam Howell Excited For 'Great Opportunity' With Commanders
When Sam Howell was selected by the Washington Commanders in the fifth-round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he likely would have done just about anything in his power to give himself the opportunity to be the team's starting quarterback in his second season and perhaps beyond.
After some impressive moments in a Week 18 start against the Dallas Cowboys to finish off what was largely a redshirt season in 2022, Howell now has a chance to seize the starting quarterback job for the foreseeable future in Washington. And that's not lost on him.
“The way I look at it is, it's a great opportunity for me with the position I'm in to really compete here and be the starter of this year," Howell said. "It's a great opportunity for me to go out there and just show what I can do. I know if I go out there on the field and play a type of football that I think I can play, everything will work out for itself. But, you know, I'm really just taking it one day at a time. Trying to put some consistent ball on tape. Just try to do everything I can to get better each and every day.”
The most notable development for Howell this offseason was likely former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy taking the same position in Washington. Out of the shadows of coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Bieniemy will now get a chance to build his own offense and call plays for the Commanders. Howell acknowledged this week that he's excited for Bieniemy's RPO-based offense, which he feels like he's fully grasped.
“I think at this point I have total command of the offense," Howell said. "I studied a lot this summer and trying to get really comfortable with the system obviously because it's new, and just tying my feet into the concepts that we're running. And I feel like I've made a lot of progress in that area so I'm excited to be here in camp and to have all the guys together and get an opportunity to prove that.”
Truthfully, there hasn't been enough of a glimpse of Howell at the NFL level to make a judgement one way or another whether he's going to be good enough to finally stabilize the quarterback position in Washington. But coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew have seemingly bet their jobs on Howell's ability to take a major step forward in 2023, so they must feel quite a bit of confidence in the 22-year-old.
And if Howell proves to even be a competent quarterback, who is to say that the Commanders couldn't compete for a playoff spot in 2023? Former owner Daniel Snyder is no long a black cloud hanging over the organization, which should help the team to move forward. And while the Commanders were the only NFC East team not to make the playoffs in 2022, they still won eight games, despite mostly subpar quarterback play from Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke.
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