Jay Gruden watched with the rest of us as Ron Rivera sat Sam Howell in the fourth quarter Sunday, and while Ron said it was done to protect Howell, Gruden told Grant & Danny Monday that he's not so sure.
"Well, I think that they were struggling, then he threw the pick across his body when he had a guy wide open in the flat, so I think maybe he just wanted to try to get a spark and try to get something going in the fourth quarter," Gruden said. "Unfortunately for Sam, who's been battling his ass off for 15 weeks in a row competing and taking shots and still playing pretty well, he had to sit that one out."
So what can we take out of the fact that Jacoby Brissett had so much success on his two drives, and should we be looking for Brissett to take over, even though Ron Rivera has said he won't?
"I don't know, it's hard to tell because it was 28-7 at that point," Gruden said. "He got a couple of good deep completions of Terry, obviously, and h looked like he was in control. He looked like a veteran quarterback should look coming off the bench, but I wouldn't take too much into it. I think Sam is still clearly the No. 1 guy. Jacoby is a very good backup, he's been a good player for a long time, but Sam's had some really good games. He's had some tough moments, as young quarterbacks do as they're going through the growing process, and it's not a very dominant team around him. It's been a tough time for Sam, but I don't think you bench him; I think he's had a good enough year where he let him play it out."
After the season ends, though, has Howell done enough to show whomever will be the Commanders' next GM and head coach that he deserves a chance to be the long-term answer?
"The possibility of drafting a QB is always on the table, and you have to look at all the possibilities. There are some good ones coming out, and if you get a Top 5 pick and a chance to get one of those three or four guys that are really, really good, you have to look at it," Gruden said. "If you jave a chance to get a quarterback in your building for the next 10 to 1215 years, you take it. Not saying anything bad against Sam, but if you feel a guy is better than Sam, you have to take that risk and make that pick."
And there's likely nothing Howell can do over the final few weeks to change that thought.
"I don't think so, not when you're talking about a Top 5 pick and a franchise-changing quarterback," Gruden said. "Sam is a good player, don't get me wrong, but if you have a chance to get a guy like Jayden Daniels or Caleb Williams or somebody like that who you feel can do some different unique things and be a top notch quarterback in this league, then you have to take that shot."
Gruden thinks any and all of Daniels, Williams, or Drake Maye would be "great fits for any franchise," and "if you have a chance to get one of those three guys, you'd be foolish not to take a shot."
Take a listen to Gruden's entire segment above, where the guys also get into the Commanders' late goal-line issues, why they did an onside kick at 28-20, Camaron Cheeseman finally being released, and more!
