It’s no secret the Washington Commanders are in the quarterback business this offseason. It’s not often you land the No. 2 overall pick in a draft that features three quarterbacks worthy of being selected among the top five picks.
New ownership, a new general manager, and a new head coach mean it’s also the perfect time to find a franchise quarterback who can grow with the new regime.
Washington’s offseason plans became even more intriguing over the weekend when it was revealed that the team had hired former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Kingsbury is known for his outstanding work with quarterbacks, having coached Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Manziel (during his Heisman season) and Kyler Murray. But, perhaps most significantly, Kingsbury served as a senior offensive analyst for USC in 2023 and became close with quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams is the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. To select him, Washington would need to convince Chicago to trade back one spot.
During new head coach Dan Quinn’s introductory press conference on Monday, GM Adam Peters refused to answer in-depth questions about Washington’s quarterback plans. Of course, that was how Peters should have handled that question.
But after he met with the media, Scott Abraham of ABC 7 in Washington, D.C., had some one-on-one time with Quinn, who brought up the name of the Commanders’ incumbent quarterback, Sam Howell.
“And certainly talent is here also at quarterback, going against Sam through this year and honestly a little bit from last year as well, you knew how talented this player was,” Quinn said. “The arm talent, the ability to create, and that’s what quarterback play is. Off-schedule plays when you can get outside the pocket; not everything is always clean and where you can go. We’re just getting started on the evaluation phase, so when you’re putting a whole program together, there’s free agency and the draft, and you’ll look at all the things to try to make the team better. But, I’m certainly impressed by the competitor that Sam is, that jumped out to me……how tough and competitive he is.”
Everything Quinn said about Howell is true. He proved he can play. He didn’t prove he could be a long-term starter, but Howell proved he belonged in the NFL and certainly has the tools to be a starter. Regardless of what the Commanders do in the draft, Howell is under contract for two more seasons and will likely compete with a rookie to start in 2024 or serve as the primary backup.
Dan Quinn did not answer the quarterback question in today's press conference.
Adam Peters did.
That's ok because Quinn answered my quarterback question.
This is what DQ had to say about the position here in Washington.
🔽🔽🔽 pic.twitter.com/TVBEu5kK6Q
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) February 5, 2024