Washington Commanders have their franchise quarterback, but now what?
It's becoming clear that the Washington Commanders have their quarterback of the future in Sam Howell, but now that quarterback is taken care of what else do they need to become more successful?
Not a lot has gone right for the Washington Commanders this season. The franchise has a record of 4-8 and their head coach doesn't seem long for the job. The only good thing is that they finally have a long-term solution at quarterback for the first time since Kirk Cousins.
Sam Howell has performed more than above expectations. This season he's passed for 3,339 yards this season. He's completed 66.5 percent of his passes and has a QBR of 49.1. He also has 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Howell seems to be the guy in Washington moving forward which is great, but now ownership has to ask itself, now what? What else does this team need? Let's take a look to see what else the Commanders need to address this offseason.
Washington Commanders need to build around their franchise quarterback.
Before the Commanders address any roster problems this offseason, the franchise has to clean house as I've written about before. Most of the coaching staff and front office need to let go before any other changes happen.
The good news is that has already happened with the firing of defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer after Washington lost in their Thanksgiving game matchup against their historic rival the Dallas Cowboys. However, more changes have to be made at the end of the season.
Outside of the front office and coaching staff, this roster is majorly flawed. Let's start with this offensive line which has surrendered an NFL-leading 55 sacks this season. The list below illustrates the weaknesses of the offensive linemen on this roster and who shouldn't be a part of the team's future.
Washington Commanders offensive linemen struggles according to Pro Football Focus
- Andrew Wylie: seven sacks allowed and four penalties
- Nick Gates: five sacks allowed and four penalties
- Chris Paul: four sacks allowed and one penalty
- Charles Leno Jr.: three sacks allowed and nine penalties
- Saahdiq Charles: three sacks allowed and three penalties
- Tyler Larsen: three sacks allowed and zero penalties
None of these offensive linemen need to be on the roster next season. These stats are only through 12 games. These numbers are bound to be worse and Howell needs better and more disciplined protection moving forward.
Defensively, the bigger issue isn't with the defensive line despite losing Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline. The issues to getting better in the secondary. They have some good players like LB David Mayo, LB Jamin Davis, CB Emmanuel Forbes, CB Kendall Fuller, CB Benjamin St-Juste, and S Kamren Curl.
That's not enough to have a strong pass defense. They need to add more to the secondary, especially in the safety position. As of now the Commanders give up 29.2 points per game which is the worst in the NFL and surrender 264.6 passing yards per game which is 30th in the NFL.
Once a new head coach and front office get put into place, the franchise needs to build up the offensive line first and foremost to protect Howell. However, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't improve on the defensive end either.
Now that the Washington Commanders have their quarterback of the future, the franchise should have three goals moving forward to build a winner around Howell. They need to clean house with both the front office and the coaching staff. Then they need to improve the offensive line and defensive secondary.