How Commanders Ex Sam Howell 'Stuck Out' to Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald discussed his impressions of Sam Howell leading to a trade with the Washington Commanders.

Quarterback Sam Howell prepares to throw against the Baltimore Ravens defense during the 2023 NFL Preseason. / Perry Knotts/GettyImages

ORLANDO - When Sam Howell stepped into the starting quarterback role under then Washington Commanders assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy there was a lot of optimism.

It was Bieniemy's chance to prove his detractors wrong, a chance for Howell to prove his draft position wrong, and the time for the Commanders to finally deliver on the promise we thought we saw for about three years under then head coach Ron Rivera.

Instead, the Washington defense imploded early and only put more pressure on Howell and Bieniemy leading to massive amounts of pass attempts, hits, sacks, and ultimately 13 losses in 17 games.

Quarterback Sam Howell prepares to throw against the Baltimore Ravens defense during the 2023 NFL Preseason. / Perry Knotts/GettyImages

That led to the team having the No. 2 overall pick under new general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn, Bieniemy being left to find employment at UCLA, Rivera on the open market, and Howell on his way to the Seattle Seahawks via trade just a few moments into the new league year.

"I think it happened with [Seahawks general manager] John [Schneider's] experience and my experience playing against Sam," Seattle coach Mike Macdonald told reporters including Corbin Smith of All Seahawks at the annual NFL league meetings this week. "When you play quarterbacks, it's different on tape than it is when you go against them in person and you felt the competitor. That was the biggest thing that stuck out in my mind and that's someone you want on your football team, a guy that's going to go to battle."

Competitive spirit is something nobody questioned in Howell, and something that clearly stood out for Schneider and Macdonald in their limited exposure to him. And ultimately helped lead to the decision to make a trade and have him backup veteran Geno Smith.

Macdonald points out, however, it wasn't just the way Howell competed that drew attention, but the tools he had with him when walking into any NFL level fight.

"Obviously the arm talent is there, but the escape ability, the ability to extend plays is just something that you respected going against him, that he was out there and battling," Macdonald said. "You put that together and his performance up in Seattle, it's something that I thought we made a pretty cool jump to go get him."

Howell wasn't expected to be the starter for the Commanders, and he isn't expected to be that for the Seahawks either. But where he'd potentially be relegated to third quarterback duties in Washington he'll get a chance to be the first understudy in Seattle and continue getting important reps for his future development.

"We'll see what [offensive coordinator] Ryan [Grubb] thinks and what's the right split. Geno is going to go into camp, he's the starter, really excited about that. But obviously Sam needs a lot of reps as well... We'll figure out the right mix. We might not be competing for one and two, but those two guys are going to be getting after it every day to develop and bring the team along and compete with themselves to try to make them the best player they can be, and that's what we expect."