Ron Rivera says Commanders never considered a quarterback at No. 16

Will Levis or Hendon Hooker was never in play for Washington at No. 16.

There was much debate about the Washington Commanders and the quarterback position entering the 2023 NFL draft. Many believed Washington needed to target a quarterback, while head coach Ron Rivera always stated his belief in Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.

With Hendon Hooker [Tennessee] and Will Levis [Kentucky] on the board at No. 16, Washington never considered either quarterback.

“No, I think the big thing for us right now is what we did in free agency, I think really helped us as a football team,” Rivera said Thursday night after Washington made its first-round selection of Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. 

“And again, I like who [QB] Jacoby Brissett is. For the most part, I think with some of the guys we grabbed on the offensive line, adding to that depth, that really has helped us. Doing some of the things that we did on the defensive side, finding the middle linebacker, there’s a lot of pluses to all the things we did. And yet the one thing that we still have confidence in and very comfortable with is what we have at quarterback. We think [QB] Sam [Howell] and Jacoby, and [QB] Jake [Fromm] for that matter, give us a good room right now.”

The goal for this offseason was improving the team around Howell. While Washington signed three offensive linemen in free agency, there is more work to be done in the rest of the 2023 NFL draft.

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