With OTAs underway, Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera is getting a closer look at the pieces available to round out the team’s roster when decisions have to be made later in the offseason. One of the key areas of interest is the quarterback position that currently belongs to Sam Howell but in true Rivera fashion, he is going to make the second-year quarterback earn his spot.
Howell took over under center at the end of last season when it became inevitable that Carson Wentz was not working out. There were also questions starting to surround the continuation of Taylor Heinicke’s tenure in a Commanders uniform.
Although fans have only seen flashes of Howell, he showed that he can make plays and take control of the offense. Now he is picking up where he left off.
“He’s still confident. Got a lot of confidence, but the difference I’m seeing really is from when he first got started when we began OTAs to where he is now. The way he handles things, his command in terms of the things that he’s doing,” Rivera said. “One of the things that we’re doing, it’s something we had done way back when I was in Chicago, we mic Sam up, so we can listen to him. He’s taking charge, taking command.”
Howell is embracing the leadership role that he is stepping into: “I think leadership has always been apart of me. Just last year with the position I was in, it wasn’t my job to come out here and try to get guys ready to go. But I think definitely just stepping into this year in a new role, it’s my job to get the guys going and take command of this team. So it’s something that I’m always trying to improve.”
The workouts have also given Howell an opportunity to learn Eric Bieniemy’s new offensive system which is seemingly going well.
“We’re still working through some things, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress already and EB is doing a really good job and he just cares about the details,” Howell said. “It’s just so much fun to play for a guy like that. He’s very hard on us and he sets a high standard, as you guys can probably tell by being out here at practice but, you know, that’s what we want.”