What is best for an NFL rookie quarterback? Should he play right away or sit the first season(s)?
That was one of the areas Washington Commanders General Manager Martin Mayhew was asked by members of the press Wednesday at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.
“I think that it’s a tremendous value,” Mayhew said. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence that [Green Bay Packers QB] Aaron Rodgers and [Kansas City Chiefs QB] Pat Mahomes are two of the best quarterbacks in the league, and they had the benefit of being able to sit behind a quality quarterback, sit and learn for some period of time.
I’m obviously not saying that Sam (Howell) is those guys right now, but I’m saying that I think that there’s a lot of benefit to coming in without that immediate pressure every single week to learn a different game plan, to play against a different team, to play a longer season than you ever played in your whole life with grown men and different schemes that you’re seeing you haven’t seen before. I think that’s one of the things as a league where we really have failed is in developing quarterbacks. And the reason for that, I believe, is because the bad teams get to pick first. They pick a very talented quarterback. Sometimes their team is not that talented then they have that immediate pressure to put that player on the field and so many guys have failed for that reason. So, I think it’s going to help Sam a lot.”
Howell did have the benefit of not experiencing the weekly pressure and was able to sit behind two veterans who, from a distance, appear to be great teammates. Howell certainly spoke favorably regarding the type of teammates and friends Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz were to him during the season.
Howell watched the first 16 games and saw action only in the season finale, a 26-6 win over NFC East rival, Dallas, played at FedEx Field. Yes, it was an extremely small sample size. Though he certainly had one badly forced pass resulting in an interception, Howell did exhibit a poise, several times, extending plays and displaying an awareness of when to slide as well when running the ball. Here is every pass and run by Howell in the season finale.
Yet, Mayhew was honest, saying they will look closely at the quarterbacks during the Combine and also look into free agency in possibly signing one. However, he did explicitly reference positively how he views Sam Howell.
“Sam will have every opportunity to win that starting job,” Mayhew said of his young quarterback. “I was very impressed with the way that he played and practiced last year. Obviously very small sample, he only played in one game, but we got to see him the whole offseason. We gotta see him all through training camp, every week in practice. He has the skills that it takes to be a starter in this league, in my opinion.”
