Sam Howell was pulled from the last two Commanders games, so it was no surprise that he was officially benched as the Commanders’ starting quarterback on Wednesday.
Jacoby Brissett will run the offense against the 49ers this weekend and it seems likely that he’ll also get the nod in Week 18. Brissett said after last Sunday’s loss to the Jets that he hopes Howell will lean on him as an experienced teammate as he navigates the change in fortunes and Howell indicated on Wednesday that he will be doing that.
“Obviously disappointing, it is what it is,” Howell said, via the team’s website. “I think at the end of the day, I just gotta play better. I’m just gonna try to do whatever I can, continue to get better these last two weeks and try to learn as much as I can while watching Jacoby play, support him and try to be a good teammate.”
Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said the move is being made to give Howell a break after a rough stretch and that it has his “continued development” in mind. Rivera is likely going to be let go come the end of the season, though, and the next regime may not have the same ideas about how Howell fits into the mix.
