Out of playoffs, Commanders will use Cowboys game to evaluate rookie quarterback Howell

ASHBURN — The original plan was to start Taylor Heinicke and then have Sam Howell appear at some point in relief. When Ron Rivera went to bed Tuesday night, the Washington Commanders coach was set on playing both quarterbacks in Sunday’s season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. But in talking about the decision Wednesday morning with members of his inner circle, Rivera changed his mind. 

He decided the wiser move would be to let Howell play the whole game. 

“There’s enough reasons why to start him and enough reasons why not to,” Rivera said of the rookie. “And it’s just a matter of, he’s going to get an opportunity to play, then why not just start from the beginning?” 

With the Commanders eliminated from the playoffs, Howell will start and make his NFL debut this coming weekend.  The change will provide a chance for the 22-year-old to show what progress he has made since last playing in the preseason — and an opportunity for Rivera and Co. to see if the fifth-rounder could perhaps develop into a viable starter down the road. 

Howell’s opportunity comes at the cost of Heinicke and Carson Wentz, the latter of whom will likely be inactive Sunday — a week after starting the team’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. Rivera said Heinicke will be Howell’s backup.

The Commanders drafted Howell with the 114th pick last April, selecting the North Carolina product after he fell over the course of the draft. Once projected as a potential top-five pick after a promising freshman season, Howell saw his draft stock take a hit because of an inconsistent junior year. But the Commanders felt Howell’s upside was too promising to pass on, especially that late in the draft. They took him despite acquiring Wentz just weeks earlier. Howell has a notably big arm and is a threat with his legs. 

This season, Howell has been in the background — running the scout team earlier and then serving as Washington’s primary backup in the two months that Wentz was sidelined with a broken ring finger. But coaches have touted Howell’s development in that span, praising the rookie’s improved knowledge of the offense and the strides he made with his footwork. 

Howel said he can see his progress. Coming from a run-pass-option style offense in college, the 6-foot-1 signal caller needed time to learn the ins and outs of offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s scheme. Howell told reporters Wednesday that he has “come a long way” mentally, adding he thinks he better understands opposing defenses. 

“I want to prove to my teammates that I can do this job and I just wanna prove to them that I’m capable of playing in the NFL,” Howell said. “Really more than anything, I just want to prove (it) to myself. I know how hard I’ve worked my whole entire life to get this opportunity.

 “I just wanna go out there and make the most of it.”

Howell figures to have his hands full in his first start. The Cowboys, who have allowed the seventh-least points per game, will be playing their starters as they can win the NFC East with a win and a Philadelphia loss. One of the reasons that Rivera said he mulled playing Heinicke was so that he could see what Dallas would do and adjust. 

Still, Rivera reversed course — hours after an ESPN report emerged that Heinicke was set to start barring a change in plans. Though he declined to specify who he consulted with in changing his mind, Rivera said owners Dan and Tanya Snyder were not involved in the decision and made no directive to start Howell. 

Speaking to reporters near his locker, Heinicke — who could be in a Washington uniform for the final time Sunday as he’ll be a free agent at the end of the year — said he wasn’t disappointed with the change.  

“We want to see what Sam’s got,” Heinicke said. “We’ve seen it all year, through practice, training camp and preseason. The guy can ball.”

Rivera said he did not give much consideration to staying with Wentz, who struggled mightily against Cleveland. Brought in by the team’s front office with hopes that he could be the long-term answer, Wentz said he was “obviously very frustrated with the finish,” but understood Rivera had to make a decision “for the future.” 

For a week, at least, Howell gets a chance to show how much he could be part of that future.

“We’re not gonna judge everything on Sam based on just one game,” Rivera said. “We are gonna get an opportunity to see him and see how he prepares and gives himself the opportunity to play.”