Tag: Sam Fortier

Commanders forced to go inside the bubble; Howell up and down

Some good and bad from Sam Howell as the Commanders finished up minicamp.

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The Commanders had to practice indoors Thursday, closing their mandatory workouts for the week.

Due to wildfire smoke from fires in Canada, MLB postponed the Nats home game, which had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon, as local authorities warned residents in the DMV to stay inside, also recommending their pets be brought inside.

Consequently, the Commanders took their OTA workout to the bubble in Ashburn.

With the limited space inside the bubble (remember the roster is currently at 90, while during the season, it is reduced to 53 plus a practice squad, some vets were given time off, such as Kendall Fuller and Charles Leno.

Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reported that during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 in the red zone work, quarterback Sam Howell was both up and down, throwing interceptions and touchdowns.

When asked about Howell being the starter heading into training camp, Fortier expressed head coach Ron Rivera had stated that Howell had still accomplished/shown enough during the OTAs that he will indeed be the QB1 at the beginning of training camp.

Fortier declared perhaps Rivera was playing up his praise for his young quarterback a bit, but Fortier also sincerely felt that “it is Sam Howell’s job to lose. I don’t think he has gained or lost standing during these workouts. It is really hard to say Jacoby Brissett is nipping at the heels of Sam Howell at this point.”

Commanders have shown some real progress in two areas

Emmanuel Forbes continues to be a bright spot for the Commanders.

A local reporter believes confidently the Commanders have made real progress in two key areas of the roster this offseason.

The Washington Post Commanders reporter Sam Fortier went as far as Thursday on the Craig “Hoffman Show” on The Team 980 to suggest that if the Commanders were playing the Vikings and wanted to shadow wide receiver Justin Jefferson, it would not be Kendall Fuller, given the assignment. It wouldn’t even be Benjamin St-Juste.

No, Fortier declared it would be rookie Emmanuel Forbes who has yet to play his initial NFL regular-season game. “If you want to be CB1 by that definition, then I think (Forbes) is your guy right now. He has been impressive. In terms of minicamp for a rookie? He has looked pretty dang good.”

Hoffman then transitioned, “The offensive line is still a massive area of concern.” He asked Fortier, “Have you seen anything to ease your concern in that position group this Spring?”

Fortier’s response was noteworthy. “If you want to say that they are old, unathletic and immobile like they were last year at guard with Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner. Then, I have seen things to boost my confidence. Saahdiq Charles looks bigger and stronger, and Sam Cosmi is going to transition nicely into guard.”

Fortier continued; however, he did not feel Rivera was as confident in the offensive line as he would like to be. Hoffman referred to how confident coaches were in 2022 of their offensive line despite its ability being much less than in 2020-21. Hoffman suggested this is good in that it shows they are more aware of what they actually have and don’t have on the offensive line now than in 2022.