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Yet another reset at quarterback looms large for the Washington Commanders after Sam Howell was benched. Veteran Jacoby Brissett will start for the remainder of this season, but he’s a stop-gap, while Howell is potential trade bait. Especially if the New York Jets would give up Zach Wilson and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft in return.
That’s the hefty trade proposal outlined by Spotrac.com’s Michael Ginnitti. He believes “the Commanders should find themselves in a prime spot to draft their next franchise QB, (currently slated to select #3 overall). 2023 QB1 Sam Howell holds a non-guaranteed 2 years, $2M, while veteran Jacoby Brissett is slated for free agency next March.”
Ginnitti also thinks dealing Howell to the Jets would let the Commanders “select their next franchise QB at the top of the draft, giving him the keys to the car immediately.”
That implies Wilson would only be the backup in Washington. Yet, the move would still mark a much-needed fresh start for a signal-caller who has declined rapidly since being drafted second overall by the Jets in 2021.
Commanders Would Give Zach Wilson a Fresh Start
Wilson needs pastures new after his career in New York has runs its course. He’s been benched too many times, with the latest demotion in favor or Tim Boyle then Trevor Siemian representing the nadir for the former BYU star.
Injuries and turnovers have too often blighted Wilson’s development. He’s had an unfortunate habit of giving the ball away in the key moments of games, per NFL on CBS.
He’s missed 17 games and thrown 25 interceptions since entering the league, per Pro Football Reference. Those numbers make it easy to forget there was a time Wilson was considered franchise quarterback material.
The 24-year-old hasn’t always been helped by a Jets’ O-line that’s crumbled under pressure this season. Wilson has been besieged in many games, notably against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9, per Next Gen Stats.
The Commanders have their own issues in the trenches, having surrendered 60 sacks through 15 games. What they do have is a few more weapons, like wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel.
A Commanders offense still being refined by pass-first play-caller Eric Bieniemy could suit a mobile signal-caller like Wilson, who’s still young enough to salvage his career.
Of course, those same things are all true of Howell.
Sam Howell Still Has Value as a Backup for Commanders
It may be too soon to dump Howell. The 23-year-old still has value as a QB2 in Washington. Particularly if Bieniemy finds more ways to take advantage of the second-year pro’s mobility and accuracy off of play action.
Howell was a prolific runner at North Carolina, but he’s only made 43 rushing attempts this season. Many of them have been ad-libbed scrambles, rather than designed runs.
Incorporating Howell’s running skills into the playbook more might have helped. So would attempting more than 62 play-action pass attempts, since Howell showed a flair in the PA game during his days at North Carolina, per PFF College.
There are ways to still salvage something from Howell’s skill-set. It would make financial sense to try, since Howell will earn $985,000 in base salary for 2024, according to Spotrac.com.
The Commanders could keep Howell and still select a quarterback at the top of next year’s draft. Trading for Wilson wouldn’t upgrade the depth chart, while another fifth-round pick isn’t enough incentive to strike this particular deal.
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