Commanders' Ron Rivera: 'Don't Sleep' on Jacoby Brissett amid Sam Howell QB Battle

Signs are pointing toward Sam Howell being named the Washington Commanders' starting quarterback for Week 1, but the team hasn't officially anointed him with that title yet as Jacoby Brissett remains in the mix.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was asked about Howell on Thursday at training camp, and he provided some enlightening comments alongside a note to not sleep on Brissett.

"I think to me it's right now, this is all the growth and development opportunity. This is a chance to learn the base fundamentals of our offense. And he's been doing it since OTA's and minicamp," Rivera said regarding Howell (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

"Now we're in training camp, we're in our eighth day now. So all these things are coming together. What you really need to look for is when we get on the field, when we do game plan, when we do prepare. I know it's just preseason games, but those are going to be paramount to telling everybody where he is, what's his growth.

"And at the same time as I've said a couple times, don't sleep on Jacoby, he's done a nice job as well. I mean, we got some really good quarterback play going on right now. We've got a real good quarterback room. We're very happy with what we've got right now. And again, we just want to continue to see the growth."

The Commanders open up the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite the fact that the Commanders haven't named a starter, Howell is reportedly doing everything in his power to earn the job. Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports noted how Howell is doing well this offseason.

"The good news, so far, is that Howell — the presumed favorite to win the job — has gotten off to a good start at training camp in Ashburn, Va., after what Rivera insisted was a strong offseason for him overall," Vacchiano wrote.

"He seems to be picking up new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy's offense well and his coaches and teammates have praised his leadership and his increased confidence."

Howell has only one game of experience, but he impressed in a 26-6 upset win over the playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys to close the 2022 regular season. The former UNC star, 22, completed 11-of-19 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception alongside 35 rushing yards and another score.

We'll see if Howell ends up being named the starter for Week 1, but Brissett has fared well when given chances in the past. The seven-year veteran has played with four teams before signing with Washington, completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 48 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in 76 games (48 starts) along the way. Howell projects to have more upside, but the Commanders are deep at the position with one of the best backups in quarterback aboard.

For now, the competition continues as the Commanders look toward their first preseason game on Friday, Aug. 11 against the Cleveland Browns.