Tag: Sam Howell 2023 starter?

Ron Rivera confident and positive about Commanders’ changes

Rivera spoke on a number of topics, but his comments regarding Sam Howell were the most interesting.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera had some positive things to say Tuesday, speaking with the press at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

Having released Carson Wentz Monday, Rivera took the time to speak in terms of admiring Wentz the person, the man, despite the fact that Wentz disappointed Rivera with his quarterback play.

“He’s a heck of a young man,” Rivera said. “He’s a solid man. I want to wish him the best. I really do appreciate all he did for us. In the opportunity he had coming here, he did the best he could, and we really appreciate that as well.”

Rivera had wasted no time, making his decision late the previous night to apply the franchise tag to defensive tackle Daron Payne.

Rivera was quick to point out when asked, he is committed to wanting to keep Payne and get him signed, thus the Commanders were the first team to apply the tag in this 2023 offseason.

“The guy’s been very integral to the development of this football team and this defense, as well as the other guys he plays alongside,” the coach said. “We just wanted to make sure everybody understood that we are serious.”

Coach Rivera expressed the need to permit newly hired assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to bring in some staff he desired. Thus, Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard has been hired as the new QB coach. Bieniemy and Pritchard, having known each other for a decade, Rivera spoke favorably of their relationship.

Regarding Sam Howell, Coach Ron made it clear he had informed Bieniemy of his plan to go with Howell as his QB1 and that Bieniemy was on board with Rivera’s plan.

Yes, factually, Rivera incorrectly alluded to Howell’s “junior year” when he was actually speaking of Howell’s sophomore year of being graded highly by many NFL scouts.

Praising Howell, Rivera expressed, “He’s got a tremendous skill set. He’s got the kind of arm you do look for.”

What Rivera then said raised some eyebrows and brought criticism from some.

“He’s not our starter,” Rivera said. “He’s coming in as the QB1. He’ll get a great opportunity to be our starter. But we do want to find a veteran quarterback. We have Taylor Heinicke, that’s a free agent. We’ve got to work through that as well. And we’ll see what happens from there.”

Rivera was saying it is Howell’s job to maintain and keep, and he’ll be given the top place on the depth chart to do this. He was being honest, that with only 19 passing attempts, you can’t yet say the team starter is already a done deal.

Specifically mentioning Heinicke could very well indicate Rivera might like to have Taylor return as the backup if both parties can agree to a contract.

Rivera also spoke of the team now having their “head above water” and he “feels very confident going forward.”

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Eric Bieniemy welcomed to the Commanders

Eric Bieniemy speaks with Julie Donaldson after his introductory press conference.

Julie Donaldson welcomed Eric Bieniemy to the Washington Commanders.

Here are some of Bieniemy’s thoughts. Here is the entire interview.

“I’ve known Coach Rivera for a number of years. He’s a great man, a man of integrity. He’s an outstanding leader of men and I’m grateful to have this opportunity to work with him.”

“A lot of people don’t know this, Marty Hurney was on the staff as the Director of Player Personnel when I was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. So, our relationship goes back to 1991.”

“So, it feels good being in an environment with people that you know but also good people who are professional men that understand what it takes to build a winner.”

“What makes me the right guy is the leadership that I am going to bring, holding guys to the highest standard, getting them to understand the importance of being accountable…understanding what consistent and disciplined behavior is, and you have to be willing to work at it every single day.”

“If you get a cohesive unit that believes in each other and plays for each other those guys will go out and be great because the talent is here.”

“It’s been an amazing ride; I’ve been there (Kansas City) for ten years. Throughout those ten years, we’ve had a great deal of success. My last five years there, I was offensive coordinator, and we went to five AFC Championship games, three Super Bowls and won two.”

“Like I said in my press conference, Comfort can become the enemy of progress and sometimes you just want to do something new, and its about embracing the challenge. I’ve never run from a challenge.”

“First of all you see a guy (Sam Howell) who can make a number of throws. But you always want to create competition to bring out the very best in every player. You want to create a competitive environment so that no one is taking anything for granted.”

“When it is all said and done, we want our guys being at their best, when their best is needed.”

“We are going to play complimentary football. We want our guys to not fall into the idea that we have to do ‘this’. No, we have to do whatever it takes to win.”

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Raiders release Derek Carr; Should Commanders pursue Carr?

Derek Carr is a free agent and would be an upgrade at QB for Washington. Should the Commanders pursue?

Derek Carr, a 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback is now a free agent; might the Washington Commanders have interest in Carr?

Carr, who has passed for 35,222 yards in his nine NFL seasons as an Oakland and Las Vegas Raider, was released by the Raiders Tuesday. The Raiders and Carr were at odds with one another. Las Vegas had attempted to trade Carr in the last week, but when those efforts were thwarted, the Raiders made sure to release Carr one day prior to $40.4 million that was to be guaranteed to Carr.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera just last week told Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio that he had determined Sam Howell was going to be given every opportunity this offseason to secure a hold as the No. 1 starter for the Commanders in the 2023 season.

Rivera was also clear that Washington, unlike last offseason, was not going to shop for any quarterbacks where they would be required to invest a good amount of capital.

First-year Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels determined during the 2022 season that Carr would not be his quarterback moving forward. Carr is not a top-tier All-Pro, no. However, Carr has been a Pro Bowler four times, completed 64.6 percent of his passes, and he is certainly no check-down Charlie quarterback.

Carr’s touchdown to interception ratio is 217:99, he led four fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives in 2022. However, Carr’s passing yards per game were down to 234.8, his lowest since his 233.1 ypg in 2017. His career won / loss numbers as a starter are 63-79-0.

Carr’s 2022 QBR of 55.6 was actually higher than his 2021 of 52.4. Carr will become age 32 in March.

Carr is not elite, but he will draw interest which may make him more expensive than the Commanders might be interested in paying a quarterback next season.

Look for the Commanders to pass on Carr, select another veteran to sign, to come and mentor Sam Howell, who, for now, appears to be the most likely starter for 2023.

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