It’s closing time for the Commanders on Sunday, and the minute he takes the first snap, Sam Howell will become the first Washington QB in six years to start every game of the season.
But is that his last call here in DC…and do you want it to be?
“It’s last call for the Howlers, but for the doubters there anything Sam can do on Sunday against the Cowboys that will make you think that could be the guy in 2024, the guy that we pin our hopes on as a starting quarterback?” Cakes asked Thursday morning.
“I wonder if those Howlers have checked out. Through about eight or nine weeks, every time we asked for you to call the show, you'd line up and be on hold for 45 minutes,” Bish replied. “But have you checked out if you're a Sam Howell fan? I like the guy, I don’t think he’s a starter but I think he's an NFL quarterback, quality backup, and I’d love to have him as a backup, but can he save his starting job this week?”
Bish doesn’t think so just because there’s a new regime coming, and Cakes agrees ‘you can’t impress someone else in just one game.’
“They're gonna look at his performances throughout the season, the uneven performances, and realize, look, we're picking in the Top 2, we're gonna take a shot at a top quarterback and we'll let Sam compete as the backup,” Cakes said. “Maybe even bring in another person to compete with Sam to be the backup, because as much as you like Sam, if you can find a better backup that's cheaper, that's the way this league works. He’s a fifth-rounder that's not making any real money, so if he's just slotted in as your backup, I like that, but I just don't see any future with him as a starter for 15 plus-games where he's going to lead you to a playoff spot. I just don't know if he has that in his repertoire.”
“If he had played equally as good the rest of the year as he did in some of those games in the mid part of the season, like the Seattle game, then I'd say, okay, you got something on your hands here, a quality NFL starter,” Bish replied.
“If he ended the season with, let's just say 33 total touchdowns throwing and running and 16 to 18 picks, then you'd look at that and say, well, that's, that's something we can work with and develop and make even better and refine it, and we’ve got our guy,” Cakes shot back. “But those aren't the numbers that he's putting up. He's put up a bunch of stinkers.”
Valdez jumped in and said it was impressive Howell finished the season healthy all things considered, and availability is the best availability, but maybe being a backup here is his wheelhouse?
“Being a backup in this area, for whatever reason, just gets you legend status,” Valdez said. “I mean, there's gonna be struggles if they bring in a rookie, that’s just inevitable. And then, all of the Howell chatter will kind of ramp back up, and no one will really remember this tough stretch that he had. They'll remember the good that he had, and he’ll ball out in the preseason because he got all this experience and he's gonna go against twos and threes, and that’ll be on the forefront of everyone's mind. And the first time the new guy throws two picks, everyone's gonna say, ‘man, remember what it was like with Howell?’ That'll be the best thing for him.”
“Look, he can have a great life as a backup quarterback in the NFL. There's no shame to being a backup quarterback,” Cakes replied. “Jacoby Brissett has had some starts, but he's generally viewed as a backup quarterback type at this point in his career – he signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Commanders, and he’s gonna be coveted on the market when the season ends, and he's gonna sign another deal and he's gonna play until he's 40 if he wants to. Taylor Heinicke the same deal! Sam Howell, even if he’s just a backup the rest of his career, can make $25-30 million in the NFL, with the potential to make much more if he becomes a consistent quarterback.”
Take a listen to the Junks' entire conversation above!
