(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The 2023 NFL season will mark the start of a new era for the Washington Commanders.
For one thing, Daniel Snyder’s tenure as owner is mercifully over, as he recently sold the team to a group headed by billionaire investor Josh Harris and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
Snyder had owned the team since 1999, and during that span, it had made the playoffs just six times while winning only two postseason games, which came in stark contrast to the success it enjoyed in the 1980s and early 1990s.
For another, the Commanders will have a new starting quarterback in Sam Howell.
Howell has only played in one NFL game thus far in his career, which was the final game of the 2022 campaign, his rookie season, and head coach Ron Rivera admits he didn’t know Howell was that good, per Dov Kleiman via Albert Breer.
#Commanders coach Ron Rivera admitted that he wasn’t aware of how good Sam Howell was throughout the 2022 season, or he would’ve started him sooner, via @AlbertBreer
Rivera recalled talking to his wife: “All we f—ing talked about was the quarterback, I kept saying, f–k, if I… pic.twitter.com/L9gP8Hmqrb
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 28, 2023
Washington began 2022 with veteran Carson Wentz starting under center, but the former MVP candidate proved that he couldn’t regain his old form.
He was sidelined due to a fractured ring finger in October, and Taylor Heinicke took over the QB1 spot, even after Wentz was cleared to return.
Wentz did start one more game in Week 17, but he played extremely poorly, and Washington lost to the struggling Cleveland Browns, 24-10.
In his lone start to end the season, Howell completed 11 of 19 passes and threw one touchdown pass and one interception as the Commanders blew out their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 26-6.
They finally have a clean slate after many years of ineptitude, and as a result, Howell likely won’t have much pressure on him, which will allow him to develop at his own pace.
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