Washington Commanders Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

With the NFL Draft less than two weeks away, all eyes are on quarterback-needy teams or teams that have a perceived quarterback need. One of those teams is the Washington Commanders, who have reportedly already decided on their signal-caller for the 2023 season, barring injury, of course.

According to a report from ESPNs’ John Keim, the Commanders have made it clear that they believe in second-year quarterback Sam Howell to take over the starting job in 2023. That would mean trading up for a quarterback or taking one with the 16th overall is presumably off the table. 

Of course, the Commanders may find themselves in a position where Tennneseee’s Hendon Hooker is just too good of an option to pass up on come Day 2. While that wouldn’t necessarily affect Howell for the 2023 season, as Hooker recovers from an ACL injury, it wouldn’t exactly inspire confidence in the former North Carolina Tar Heel being the future of the quarterback position.

Keim reports that the current consensus is that the Commanders are leaning towards building around Howell and this year’s draft class will likely prove their feelings on that matter. Right now, ESPN’s Jordan Reid believes that Washington may be targeting Ohio State OT Dawand Jones in the first round. At the same time, players like Tennessee OT Darnell Wright and Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer could make sense for a Washington team looking to build around its signal-caller.

The NFL world reacted to the major Commanders’ quarterback news on social media:

[ESPN, NBC Sports Edge]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.