Sam Howell wants to get the football to Terry McLaurin more often.
Meeting with the media Wednesday, Howell spoke of McLaurin, the leader, and Howell’s relationship with the receivers group.
Though Howell has passed for 3,466 yards, he only has four more touchdowns (18) to interceptions (14). In addition, McLaurin only has two TD receptions in 2023.
“Terry’s obviously a great player, great person, great leader, great teammate. He’s definitely a role model for not only me but so many people in that locker room. Obviously, we haven’t been able to get him the football as much as we’d like to. I got to do a better job of it; we all got to do a better job of it. But I think the way he’s handled it, the way he’s been just so professional ever since I’ve been here about everything, just the way he goes about his life and just how he handles things on the field, off the field, it’s exactly what you want. He’s a special person, a special player.”
The Commanders are 4-9, and have lost 9 of their last 11, so players are frustrated, including Howell and his receivers.
“They should want the ball. You want those guys to want the ball on every single play. We got to do a better job to help them out for sure.”
Despite the struggles offensively, Howell believes the relationships he has with the receivers are in a good place.
“I think we can still grow and get better with each other, and the more football we play with each other, the better we’ll get with one another. But I feel like we’re in a good place and I don’t think that’s the reason for any miscues or anything like that.”
Despite having scored less than 20 points in five games this season, including the last three, Howell sincerely believes he and the receivers are still working together.
“I think we practice well, we practice hard, we take practice very seriously, take every single rep that we get very seriously…So, I feel good about my relationship with those guys and our chemistry. We just got to do a better job of executing on the field.”