At long last, Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has officially named Sam Howell as the starting quarterback for Week 1.
Earlier this week, Rivera was asked after a joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens if he was ready to name a starting quarterback. Rivera said he needed to evaluate the film with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard before arriving at a decision.
Howell had a solid preseason debut last week against the Browns and followed that up with two strong practices against the Baltimore Ravens this week. The decision to name Howell as the starter is not a surprise. After all, how many times this year — since February — has Rivera referred to Howell as “QB1?”
The Commanders host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 in the first game of the Josh Harris era.
Sam Howell has been named the starting quarterback pic.twitter.com/XOfZu8mBxH
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 18, 2023
Rivera says Howell “met the challenge,” and the team is confident moving forward with Howell.
Ron Rivera: "I talked with Eric Bieniemy and Tavita [Pritchard] yesterday and after our first preseason game, after both joint practices I'm going to name Sam Howell our starter this year going forward."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 18, 2023
Ron Rivera on Sam Howell: "I'm very confidant and comfortable saying he's our starter."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 18, 2023