Although the Commanders have continued to talk up Sam Howell as a live option to start in 2023, they will bring in veteran competition. Jacoby Brissett is expected to sign with Washington, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
This will be Brissett’s fourth stop over the past four seasons. The two-time Andrew Luck replacement starter spent 2020 with the Colts, 2021 with the Dolphins and 2022 with the Browns. With Howell having played in one NFL game, Brissett stands to have a good opportunity to make starts in 2023.
Brissett, 30, is signing another one-year deal, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala (on Twitter). He will earn $8MM guaranteed, with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adding the contract can max out at $10MM (Twitter link).
The nomadic QB agreed to one-year pacts with both the Dolphins and Browns previously. The Commanders were interested in keeping Taylor Heinicke, per John Keim of ESPN.com, but they had Brissett just below their former backup on their offseason QB hierarchy (Twitter link). Heinicke signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the Falcons, where he will land in a similar situation to Brissett’s.
Brissett outplayed Deshaun Watson during the QBs’ time together on Cleveland’s roster. Bouncing back after not showing much in Miami, Brissett finished his 11-game season eighth in QBR. He threw 12 touchdown passes, six interceptions and averaged a career-high 7.1 yards per attempt. While the Browns only went 4-7 in Brissett’s starts, he attracted interest during his stay as Watson’s suspension gatekeeper. Over the course of his career, Brissett has made 48 starts.
Heinicke, Brissett and Baker Mayfield will step into stopgap arrangements. Considering Howell’s low draft pedigree (Round 5) and inexperience, Brissett might have stepped into the best situation of the three. The Commanders hired longtime Andy Reid right-hand man Eric Bieniemy as OC and return an intriguing wide receiver setup — Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel — to go along with a Brian Robinson–Antonio Gibson backfield tandem.
After aggressively pursuing big-name quarterbacks in 2022, the Commanders have only been connected to Howell and a low-cost veteran. A Brissett-Howell competition may be how Washington proceeds this year. The Commanders hold the No. 16 overall pick in the draft; it is a good bet the top four QB prospects will be off the board by then. Ron Rivera‘s comments have also not pointed to the team considering another rookie addition.
Perfect bridge/competition/backup for a young QB, especially one who likes to run. You wouldn’t choose to have him starting for you, but he’s one of the better insurance policies in football.
Everyone is underestimating Jacoby Brissett.
He had a very good year in 2022. He’s a veteran, knows the league, knows how to lead a teams offense, and doesn’t make dumb (and reaching) decisions in the heat of a game.
Some very good team short a quality QB is going to get this guy and let him run with it.
The Commanders are just marking time until the team gets a new owner (and puts his own GM/Coach in place). Their moves so far are compatible with simply trying to repeat last year’s 8 win effort.
Brissett has often been mentioned by Steeler fans as the replacement for Trubisky, claiming he’d cost a lot less. Clearly the backup QB market is a healthy one and Trubisky at 10MM is not that much more expensive than the other options.
Is Tyrod a free agent