We don’t think Aditi Kinkhabwala made this one up…although maybe Commanders fans wish she did?
During Sunday’s Jets-Commanders broadcast on CBS, after Sam Howell was replaced by Jacoby Brissett in the third quarter, Kinkhabwala was reporting on a conversation she had with Ron Rivera this week about how important a veteran mentor like Brissett was for Howell, and said this:
“In fact, Brissett is so important to the development of a young quarterback that when Cleveland lost Deshaun Watson midseason and made a phone call about Brissett, Ron said, “heck no I’m not letting him go!”
So yes, if that’s true, the reason Brissett wasn’t dealt at the deadline was Ron Rivera's refusal...which nearly did, and may still, cost the Commanders some serious draft position.
Our own JP Finlay was one of several who reported before the Oct. 31 trade deadline that "Cleveland chasing Brissett is real,” and prevailing rumor was that the Browns’ best offer was a sixth-round pick.
Brissett did not even see the field until the final three snaps of the Commanders’ Week 13 loss to Miami, but in his first real action of the season, he led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter of the Week 15 loss to the Rams after replacing Howell.
He then replaced Howell in the third quarter of Sunday's late loss to the Jets and led three straight TD drives to give the Commanders a 28-27 lead, but a 'run out the clock' drive gave the Jets the ball back with just under two minutes left, and thy kicked a field goal with five seconds left to win 30-28. Howell, meanwhile, was was 6 of-22 for 56 yards and two interceptions in two-plus quarters in that game.
Brissett signed a one-year, $8 million deal last winter to be Howell’s backup after spending last season as the Browns’ fill-in starter, going 4-7 while throwing for 2608 yards, 12 TD, and six INT before Watson returned from suspension.
Speculation is the now 4-11 Commanders will be looking for a quarterback in the 2024 Draft, and they’re now guaranteed a Top 10 pick and likely to be no worse than No. 8 after Sunday's action, although that was nearly spoiled - and just to add insult to injury, sixth-round pick Chris Rodriguez had two of the Commanders’ four touchdowns on Sunday.