The Commanders benched quarterback Sam Howell for veteran Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Rams.

But while Brissett provided a clear spark and tossed two touchdown passes to make things interesting, head coach Ron Rivera said after the game that Howell remains Washington’s QB1.

The Rams were up 28-7 when Howell was replaced. He finished the game 11-of-26 for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Brissett came in and went 8-of-10 for 124 yards with two touchdown passes.

Sam Howell will start the season opener at quarterback for the Washington Commanders, coach Ron Rivera said Friday, ending what had been a one-sided competition for the job. Howell has worked only with the starters since spring practices began. He has taken all but several reps with the starters; Jacoby Brissett, signed in the offseason, took his place for a handful of snaps before the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns.

On the surface, Howell is surrounded by a lot of talent, but he will be the most unproven commodity at the position outside of the incoming rookie class. Howell did show a bit with his legs in limited action last year and should firmly be on 2QB/SF radars.

If there were a set of rules for Sam Howell to follow as he tries to lead the Washington Commanders' offense, one of, if not the first on the list would be to get the ball to Terry McLaurin as often as possible.

McLaurin has been a security blanket for a variety of quarterbacks as he enters his fifth NFL season. As part of an offense that has gone through overhaul at almost every position, McLaurin has been one of the only constants, and despite all the turbulence that has surrounded him, he has found ways to be productive with every signal-caller he's worked with, from Alex Smith to Garret Gilbert.

Howell is the 10th player to throw passes to McLaurin in his career, and their relationship is still growing as Howell tries to earn the role of Washington's Week 1 starter for the 2023 season. Although the two have only been working together consistently since June, McLaurin can already tell a difference in their connection, and over the last few weeks, he feels it has risen to another level, the story went on to say.

Per Fortier, who was at the presser with head coach Ron Rivera; Rivera still considers it a competition between Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.

In a later conversation, Fortier asked if it was important for Brissett to receive first-team reps. The veteran responded with "we'll cross that bridge when we cross that bridge."

This is clearly an annoying situation for fantasy owners. The easiest thing we can boil this down to at this point; Jacoby Brissett represents a clear floor for both himself and his pass catchers in Washington. On the other hand, Sam Howell offers a very intriguing ceiling while offering what amounts to an incredibly low floor.

We'll have to wait and see how this develops.

The Washington Commanders are signing QB Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million and $8 million guaranteed. Washington gets a starting option for a quarterback who played well for Cleveland last year.

Related Players: Sam Howell

This constitutes one of the first quarterback competitions of the 2023 offseason, so buckle up. This contract is essentially double what the Browns paid him on a one-year deal, so we can take that as a hint as to how Washington perceives Brissett. Howell only started one game during his rookie season, so it's difficult to compare them statistically, but one can assume that Brissett has the leg-up at the moment.

Washington HC Ron Rivera said Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday's game vs. the Packers.

Related players: Sam Howell, Carson Wentz

Howell will be the backup according to the tweet. Reports have said the team loves Howell so if Heinicke struggles there's a chance Howell gets a shot as a starter. If the team can string together some wins and make a move in the division, there's also a chance Wentz doesn't get his job back.