Sam Howell Benched for Jacoby Brissett vs. 49ers, Says Commanders HC Ron Rivera

The Sam Howell era may be over for the Washington Commanders.

Head coach Ron Rivera announced Jacoby Brissett will start at quarterback for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The decision comes after Brissett replaced Howell midway through a 30-28 Week 16 defeat to the New York Jets and finished 10-of-13 for 100 yards and a touchdown.

It looked earlier in the year like the Commanders might have something in Howell, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. His benching is a sign of how much his performance has fallen off since then.

During Washington's current six-game losing streak, he has thrown for 1,153 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 57.4 percent of his passes.

Week 16 represented a nadir for the 23-year-old as he went 6-of-22 for 56 yards and two picks.

At 4-11, the Commanders don't have much to play for in their final two games. Rivera, on the other hand, might be auditioning to either keep his current job or land on his feet elsewhere on the NFL this offseason. That gives him an incentive to bench a young quarterback who still theoretically has some upside for a veteran journeyman who's a free agent in the offseason.

Howell's demotion seemingly telegraphs another quarterback change once the offseason kicks into gear.

Washington is on track to have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft, a selection that may allow the Commanders to land one of the best signal-callers in the class. The Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals are ahead of them, and the Cardinals may not want to give up on star quarterback Kyler Murray just yet.

It would be a bit ironic, though, if Brissett making the team slightly better means jeopardizing Washington's odds of staying in the top three.