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Commanders Coach Ron Rivera Remains Coy on Sam Howell As QB1

The Commanders quarterback battle is far from over with Ron Rivera not giving anything away in terms of who is leading the race.

The Washington Commanders have an intriguing quarterback battle going on this offseason. Second-year quarterback Sam Howell has the first crack at the job, with veteran Jacoby Brissett seen as the backup right now.

With Commander OTA's and minicamp completed, Howell has had his ups and downs thus far as he adapts to Eric Bieniemy's offense. But Howell is also doing some good things.

"He's pretty much shown us what we want to see," Rivera said. "I mean, again, he's young; we know he is young. He's a second-year player who, you know, got an opportunity to start last year. But there was a lot of room for growth, and we know that, but he's got a good skillset. He's mobile; he's got good foot movement. He's got a quick twitch to him, good decision maker. He is still learning to make those decisions, but he's also got the arm talent, and that's the thing that excites us."

With Howell seen as the starter during the offseason, Brissett has had to make do with backup reps, but there has been no decision as of yet as to who will be Washington's starter, nor should there be.

Howell has shown improvement against air; when training camp begins, Rivera and the coaching staff will better understand where Howell sits in the lead-up to the regular season.

Brissett will get his chances, as well as Ron Rivera, stated the coaching staff is "still making assessments" on the quarterback room. As the battle heats up, the pair will likely split reps during training camp.

Both have viable cases to be Washington's starter next season as this quarterback battle looks like it won't end anytime soon.


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