Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has made it clear there would be no big pursuit of a quarterback this offseason. Rivera has said the plan is for second-year quarterback Sam Howell to enter the offseason as “QB1,” but he’d have to earn it.
The most likely plan would be signing a veteran backup, capable of winning games like Taylor Heinicke, Andy Dalton and Jacoby Brissett, but one that would understand their role as a backup/mentor to Howell.
This comes one year after Washington’s pursuit of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and others, which ended with a failed trade for Carson Wentz. That trade, which cost the Commanders two draft picks, including a third-rounder in 2023, and the cost of adding an expensive veteran, is likely viewed as why Washington will sit out pursuing a trade for a veteran.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk sees things a bit differently. He wonders if Rivera’s talk about not pursuing an expensive veteran this offseason is mere lip service until the Commanders and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy see what the Baltimore Ravens do with Lamar Jackson.
“Maybe, they’re waiting to see, in Washington, whether the nearby Ravens ultimately apply the non-exclusive franchise tag to Lamar Jackson,” Florio said. “There have been different thought out there on whether the Ravens go exclusive, at about $45 million, although I think that number is going to go down by the time it locks in. If you go exclusive, he can’t talk to any other teams. He can’t sign an offer sheet; he can’t do anything but play for the Ravens or play for no one.”
Here comes the interesting part.
“Second, if you go non-exclusive franchise tag, that’s when a team like the Commanders could say, “hey, we’re drafting fairly low this year, we almost made the playoffs last year, yeah, we’ll give up two first-round picks to get Lamar Jackson. We’ll do it; we’ll do it.'”
In addition to Florio explaining Rivera’s words about Howell, he has a theory regarding owner Dan Snyder.
With Snyder potentially selling the franchise, pursuing a big-name quarterback doesn’t make sense. Florio thinks it could, and it all comes down to Snyder’s vindictiveness. Snyder understands the other NFL owners were upset with the fully guaranteed contract Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson last year. So, this would be the ultimate middle finger to the rest of the league to provide Jackson with a fully-guaranteed deal, sell the team and leave the next owner to deal with Jackson’s contract.
While this all appears unlikely, the part about Snyders vindictiveness isn’t far-fetched.
The biggest roadblock in acquiring Jackson, even if they could swing a trade with the Ravens, is that it would limit everything else the Commanders could do. Washington needs multiple offensive linemen and help at cornerback and linebacker.
But Jackson is rare. He’s a true franchise quarterback in the NFL and a former MVP. And he’s still only 26 years old.
The Ravens have said all of the right things about keeping Jackson. This situation will be interesting to watch over the next three weeks.