Washington Commanders: Sam Howell should be QB1 in Week 18

A disastrous Week 17 finally put the Washington Commanders out of their misery. Not long ago, they were in the driver’s seat when it came to a playoff spot. A three-game losing streak promptly ended all hopes and in Week 17 they were eliminated from playoff contention. This leads to at least one obvious Week 18 move, start rookie Sam Howell.

The quarterback position hasn’t been a great one for Washington in 2022. It hasn’t been good for them in decades, to be fair. This season was particularly ugly though.

The journey started back in the offseason when the Commanders traded for Carson Wentz, and no one knew why. He seemed like an upgrade from Taylor Heinicke, but only marginally, mainly due to his arm strength. And the money he was owed didn’t win anyone over either.

Wentz and the Commanders started slow. They were 1-4 heading into a matchup with the Chicago Bears. Washington would end up winning that game in ugly fashion, with Wentz throwing for under 100 yards and suffering an injury that would force him to miss multiple weeks of action.

That meant it was time for Heinicke once again. Honestly, he wasn’t great, but he wasn’t miserable. And most importantly, Washington was winning games. Soon they found themselves boasting a 7-5 record and in prime playoff position.

A tie with the New York Giants in Week 13 started an ugly turn though. Two straight losses followed and led to the benching of Heinicke in favor of Wentz once again. In Week 17, Wentz completed 16-of-28 passes for just 143 yards and zero touchdowns, while getting picked off three times.

Now that you’re all caught up, the answer is simple, right? The Commanders are officially out of the playoffs. Week 18 does not matter in that sense. Wentz and Heinicke are not your future at the quarterback position. You have an elite receiving corps, young and exciting running backs, and a top-tier defense with the best defensive line in football.

There are some holes, but the most glaring is at quarterback. Washington does have a rookie though. Sam Howell was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft this year. And while that’s not a typical round that would get you excited about a quarterback, Howell was projected to be the top QB in the draft just months before that. Even on the day of the draft, if he went in the first, no one would’ve thought it was crazy.

Sam Howell has great mobility and a strong arm. He put up monster numbers at UNC and even impressed decently well in the preseason. There was enough there to get the fans talking.

Admittedly, one game isn’t enough to evaluate anyone on. Even if Howell puts up otherworldly amazing numbers or just the worst game of all time, you can’t judge him too much. Remember that Matt Flynn game that led to a massive contract? And let’s not pretend that even greats like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning didn’t have some absolute garbage games.

But what this does do, is give you some idea of Howell. The Commanders can’t keep up whatever miserable trend they’ve had going at quarterback for the last few decades. So you need to see how desperate you are. Is Howell good enough that you at least feel like you can wait for a QB later in the upcoming draft?

Or did he perform poorly and now you feel like you need to trade up or try to get a big name via trade or free agency (just please for the love of everything no more mediocre veterans who aren’t moving the needle for anyone)?

We won’t know if Sam Howell is the future of the franchise after just one game. But the Washington Commanders need to start that evaluation now. With the team already eliminated from the playoffs, not starting their rookie quarterback in Week 18 would be another mistake by a franchise that can’t seem to stop making them.