Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera named Sam Howell the starting quarterback Friday morning before practice. Howell officially took the field as the starting quarterback for the first time and had another solid practice.
After practice, Howell spoke to the media and expressed gratitude for the opportunity.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that the coaches have given me,” Howell began.
“Shout out to Coach Rivera for just believing in me and always trusting me really since I got here. I just shout out to him and all my coaches, [Assistant Head Coach/OC] [Eric Bieniemy] EB, [QB Coach] Tavita [Pritchard], [Senior Offensive Advisor/former QB coach] [Ken] Zampese, [Assistant QB coach/Offensive Quality Control] Luke [Del Rio], all the guys, [QB] Jacoby [Brissett]. There’s been so many guys here that have helped me in my development and my career that have ultimately led to the position I’m in today. So just a shout out to all those guys.”
Now that’s how you start a press conference.
While Howell continually expressed gratitude to each of the coaches who has worked with him during his short time in the NFL, he was looking ahead to the opportunity.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, I’m always confident in my abilities just to come out here and perform and do well for this football team,” Howell said. “I think just throughout camp every single day, I’ve gotten better and more comfortable, and I feel like I’m in a really good place right now with the offense.”
The real work begins now for Howell. While there is a lot of optimism surrounding Howell due to his skillset and weapons around him, much of that excitement is tempered due to the offensive line.
Right tackle Andrew Wylie struggled in his first preseason game last week. While Wylie settled down on the third drive, Washington fans fear a leaky offensive line could ruin Howell.
Howell, though, sees things differently. He was asked about his offensive line, praising them and taking fault for the sack he took against the Browns last week.
“I was very pleased with their performance in Baltimore [in this week’s joint practices],” Howell said. “I thought there was some things in the Cleveland game we could have done a better job of, and I could have helped those guys. Like the one sack we had in Cleveland was my fault. I got to do a better job of helping those guys.”
In going back and looking at the sack, the blame does fall on Howell. He should’ve gotten rid of the ball sooner. Regardless, he’s not the type of leader to blame others, even when they are at fault.
Players believe in Howell. Coaches believe in Howell. Now, Howell must be given a long leash to prove he can be Washington’s quarterback of the future.