Following a couple of disastrous outings that resulted in a pair of late benchings, Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell lost his starting job in late December.
However, due to an injury to Jacoby Brissett, Howell got the opportunity to play against the San Francisco 49ers last week, and he will apparently be starting the season finale, as well.
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera announced on Wednesday that Howell will be taking snaps in the team’s Week 18 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.
Brissett injured his hamstring in practice going into Week 17, resulting in Howell starting last weekend, as well. Brissett was limited in practice on Wednesday, and it’s unsure if he will be available to back up Howell this Sunday.
The question is, could this be Howell’s last game in a Commanders uniform?
While Howell showed some praise throughout the first half of the season, he has struggled mightily over his last six games, failing to log a passer rating of 70 in five of those contests. Three times, he was under 60, posting 50.5 passer ratings in Weeks 13 and 15 (Washington had a Week 14 bye) and also registering a horrendous 1.7 passer rating in a loss to the New York Jets on Christmas Eve.
On the season overall, Howell has thrown for 3,793 yards, 20 touchdowns and a league-worst 19 interceptions while completing 63.1 percent of his passes and recording a passer rating of 79.5.
The 23-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of North Carolina, was selected by the Commanders in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
He made one start during his rookie campaign, going 11-for-19 with 169 yards, a touchdown and a pick.
Speculation has been swirling that Washington could look elsewhere for a quarterback this offseason, and it could ultimately choose a signal-caller in this spring’s NFL Draft.
Of course, Sam Howell could remain on the roster as a backup in 2024, but the Commanders may also aim to trade him in order to extract some value for him now.
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