The Commanders will take on the Panthers for their preseason opener on Saturday and quarterback Carson Wentz will be among those on the field.
Head coach Ron Rivera said in his Thursday press conference that he plans to have his starters on the field between 15-20 plays in the matchup.
Rivera noted that all three quarterbacks — Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, and rookie Sam Howell — will get a chance to run the offense.
“Taylor will come in after Carson and then Sam will finish up,” Rivera said, via NBCSportsWashington.com. “With Taylor, we’ll probably get him into the third quarter a little bit and then we’ll let Sam finish up. What would be really good, and it’s the last thing we worked on today, is I’d love to see Sam get a two-minute [drive] at the end of the game. That would be really cool. It would be really good experience for him as well. And he’s still got a lot to learn, but just consistency is what you’re hoping [for]. Hoping he has some success, hoping he controls things and is consistent with his ball placement when he throws it.”
Rivera also confirmed that receiver Curtis Samuel will see some action on Saturday.
Samuel has been in and out of practice as he’s dealt with some muscle tightness during training camp. Samuel played only five games for Washington last season, recording six catches for 27 yards along with 11 rushing yards on four carries. He was on the field for just 84 offensive snaps.
