Kevin Sheehan kicked off Thursday's show with a banger of a comment from a listener, Ricky: "Nobody knows much about how all of this will work out with the [Washington Commanders'] No. 2 pick, but I do know this: Sam Howell did not get a fair shot. He had a bad offensive line, a bad plan by the offensive coordinator, a bad defense, a head coach who was thinking about his legacy before he ever created one. [Washington should] trade back or take [Ohio State wide receiver] Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 2"
Oh, boy. That's some kinda take about the former fifth-round pick who will be entering his third season in the NFL in 2024.
Well, let's take a look back at Howell's 17 games as the starter in Washington during the 2023 season: 388 completions on an NFL-leading 612 attempts (63.4 percent) for 3,946 yards (6.4 yards per attempt) with 21 touchdowns and an NFL-leading 21 interceptions.
He posted a 78.9 passer rating and a 42.3 (out of 100) QBR. He was also sacked an NFL-leading 65 times for a loss of 449 yards, giving him a 5.17 net yards gained per pass attempt.
Sheehan points out that Ricky is right in his first sentence: Nobody really knows how any of this will work out, and that's true for every NFL team that doesn't know for sure they have a rock-solid, franchise quarterback, a good head coach and a solid roster. That is all unknown for Washington.
And the Commanders are going to go with a rookie quarterback next year, Sheehan said, with apologies to Ricky.
"But to suggest that Sma Howell didn't get a fair shot is a reach," he said. "That is a major reach. He had 17 regular season games in which he started. How many fifth-round picks in their second year get that kind of opportunity? He had ample opportunity to elevate a team that wasn't great around him – I'm not going to argue that point – although when you say a bad offensive line, the advanced numbers don't say or reflect that this was a bad offensive line. It reflects that it was kinda middle-of-the-pack offensive line.
"'A bad plan by the offensive coordinator,' you wrote. It's hard to disagree with the offensive coordinator, the environment that was created... I think we know it wasn't the most cohesive of situations, wasn't the most stable of situations. From that standpoint, you have a point."
Sheehan concluded: "He got a fair shot. We got to see him 17 times as a starter. We got to see him throw more passes than any quarterback in the NFL... He had ample opportunity to prove that he was capable of being something special... but the truth is that he wasn't very good."
Howell didn't elevate the situation, "he made it worse," Sheehan said.
The full segment from the Kevin Sheehan Show on the audio player above and a segment of Washington fans having their say on Howell on the audio player below:
