Sam Howell will be QB1 in Washington once again on Sunday.
Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is expected to be inactive for today’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers due to a hamstring injury, thrusting Howell back into the starting lineup just days after he was benched, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per sources.
Washington has since declared Brissett as inactive.
Brissett first appeared on the Commanders’ injury report on Friday when he was deemed questionable for Week 17. Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters on Friday that Brissett reported hamstring tightness on Thursday, which led to his uncertain status leading up to kickoff.
The injury to Brissett provides Howell an opportunity to end his second season in the NFL on a high note after it appeared to be over with an unceremonious benching for the final two weeks of the regular season.
Howell has seen his share of ups and downs during his first full season as a starter. He enters Sunday’s game with 3,624 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and a league-leading 17 interceptions.
After a solid midseason run that had people in D.C. wondering if the Commanders had found the quarterback of the future, Howell has struggled mightily in his past five games (all losses). In that span Howell has thrown eight interceptions to two touchdowns while taking 13 sacks.
Howell will have the opportunity to re-write his season’s ending when Washington kicks off against the 49ers at 1 p.m. ET.
