We’ve heard a lot of talk about which QB the Commanders should pick at No. 2, and even some about trading down to get more picks and addressing it later. We’ve also heard a lot, some vis-à-vis BMitch & Finlay trying to peg Kirk Cousins’ next destination, whether Jacoby Brissett or some other veteran backup is a priority to help mentor any young QB the Commanders do add.
But here’s a question that’s an interesting one to ponder given the state of the rebuild: should the Commanders do what they ostensibly did with Sam Howell, and let a rookie QB sit a year to learn?
Brian Mitchell remembers the Joe Gibbs era, where stashing QBs was an art form, and how in his last year in DC, he saw Doug Pederson start the season in Philly while Donovan McNabb sat. The Giants did the same with Kurt Warner and Eli Manning in 2004, and, heck, Patrick Mahomes sat a whole year behind Alex Smith, let alone what Green Bay has now done twice around the Aaron Rodgers era.
So how does he feel about the Commanders doing similar?
“I would love to see every quarterback sit back and learn, but I believe that there are too many factors at play to normally allow that to happen,” Brian said. “I think it starts with the ownership, what they have to try to do to recoup what they spent and fans have been promised stuff, they wanna see it. – and then why would a coach come in and try to build up his offense for maybe a quarterback who's not as talented as this guy, and then you have to change it when the guy comes a little later? So I think you let him play.”
Landfill brought up the Mahomes/Love trajectories, as well as Lamar Jackson sitting behind Joe Flacco, but there's catches there, too.
“Love sat behind a Hall of Famer, and as soon as Pat went in his rookie season and passed for 300 yards, they started working out a trade for Alex Smith, and next year, he was gone,” B said. “The whole thing about it is you can say sit him, but what if they draft somebody comes in and he is absolutely killing it. You gonna put him on the bench? The mindset is a unique situation, but the mindset now is you play the best, and if you go out there and you draft a guy number two, you expect him to be the best. If he steps in here and he's better than the other quarterback, you gonna still sit him?”
JP calls it “an awesome luxury with value” to be able to sit a QB, but yeah, Brian has a point, and JP doesn’t know what the best way forward is.
“When people sit down sometimes behind quarterbacks that are real good, are they really getting better, or are they seeing somebody else get better and how they get it done?” Brian asked. “Sometimes when guys get thrown into the action, they develop quicker. Some people develop later, and we just have to face the fact that some guys just aren't going to get it at all. There are guys that have sat and still didn't become great.”
