Sam Howell Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Seahawks shipped 2024 third- and fifth-round picks to the Commanders for QB Sam Howell. GM John Schneider said shortly after making the trade that QB Geno Smith remains the starter. "Geno's the guy and Sam will be backing him up," Schneider said. We're buying that considering Smith still played quality football last year, ranking 12th among 30 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus passing grades. Smith, of course, is 33 now and carries a big $38.5 million cap hit in 2025. So there's a chance that Howell replaces him then. "We were just really excited to be able to acquire him," Schneider said of Howell. "We know he's a serious dude. He's into it, he works his tail off. We got great reviews on him and we loved him coming out of college. So yeah, we're happy to get him in the mix." Howell is worth keeping stashed in most dynasty leagues.

The Commanders will start QB Sam Howell in Week 18. While he’s faced a tough stretch of defenses – Cowboys, Dolphins, Rams, Jets, 49ers – Howell’s play has fallen off over the second half of the season. Week 18 turns up a rematch with a Dallas team that defeated Washington 45-10 on Thanksgiving. Howell posted 300 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT in that one. The 23-year-old will remain a superflex-only option.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett is inactive for today’s game vs. the 49ers. QB Sam Howell will be back under center but would be tough to trust in fantasy lineups after getting benched the past two weeks.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett (hamstring) is "unlikely" to play vs. the 49ers today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. "But the team wants to see how he feels in pre-game warmups before making any decisions," Schefter adds. We'll get Washington's inactives around 11:30 am ET, but it sounds like it'll be QB Sam Howell back under center today. He's been so bad the past two weeks that he's been benched for Brissett. Howell would be tough to trust even as a QB2 in Week 17 fantasy lineups.

Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett hurt a hamstring in Friday's practice and is now questionable for Sunday's game against the 49ers. We'll have to watch his status through the weekend. No Brissett would mean another start for Sam Howell. The San Francisco matchup hasn't been awful for QB scoring but has certainly been negative. Howell, meanwhile, has been awful over his past three games. He has finished three straight weeks with 127 passing yards or less, getting pulled in each of the past two games. He doesn't belong in any fantasy lineups, and his recent performance would mean bad news for Washington pass-catchers vs. Brissett starting. Watch for rankings updates as the situation becomes clearer.

The Commanders named QB Jacoby Brissett the Week 17 starter. Brissett has provided a spark over the past two weeks, totaling 224 yards and 3 TDs on a 78.3% completion rate. We’re not excited about the former Colt as a fantasy starter – especially against the 49ers. But Brissett raises the outlook for Washington’s WR corps, most notably Terry McLaurin. See where he and Brissett sit in our updated Week 17 rankings.

Commanders QB Sam Howell was benched in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Rams. He went 11 of 26 for 102 yards, one TD, and one INT, producing just seven points. QB Jacoby Brissett will finish this one out for Washington. We're guessing that Howell will be back under center next week -- but he gets brutal matchups the next two weeks vs. the Jets and 49ers. You should be looking for an alternative if you've been rolling with Howell as your fantasy starter.

Update: HC Ron Rivera said after the loss to the Rams that Howell remains the starting QB.

Commanders QB Sam Howell threw for just 127 yards on 12-of-23 passing with 1 INT and 0 TD passes in Sunday's blowout loss to Miami. He took a modest 3 sacks from a Miami defense playing its first game since losing Edge Jaelan Phillips to an Achilles' tear. But the Dolphins still managed 9 QB hits on a day that found Howell consistently pressured. The QB saved his fantasy line by running for the team's only two TDs -- including one from 13 yards out. He also connected with TE Logan Thomas for a 2-point conversion after the second. The positive view: Howell's rushing ability is worth factoring into his fantasy outlook. He entered the day ranked 10th among QBs in rushing yards on just the 16th-most carries. And Howell now has 5 rushing scores for the year. But we can't expect him to score on the ground most weeks. The passing yardage against Miami marked a season low. And the 23 attempts matched his low. So we probably shouldn't worry too much about this outing. After a Week 14 bye, though, Howell gets a rough closing schedule. The Rams in Week 15 look fairly neutral for QB scoring. The Jets and 49ers present two of the position's worst scoring matchups. Altogether, it's the second-worst QB schedule over the final three fantasy weeks (for most leagues). Look for not only a Week 14 fill-in for Howell, but consider potential platoon partners for the fantasy playoffs.

Commanders QB Sam Howell threw for just 255 yards and 1 TD despite attempting 45 passes in Sunday's loss to the Giants. He also took 4 sacks and tossed 3 INTs. It was a surprisingly tough day for Howell, considering how much the Giants have struggled lately. But it was his second rough outing against the Giants this season. Washington's QB did save his fantasy day with 35 yards and a TD rushing. Howell gets a (supposedly) tougher matchup at Dallas in Week 12 that just might push him outside the top 12 in our QB rankings. Then comes a home date with Miam and a Week 14 bye. Howell should be startable in Week 13 but doesn't look especially helpful overall for the next three weeks. And he'll return from the bye to find a just-OK Rams matchup, then poor matchups with the Jets and 49ers. This might be a time to consider trading Howell if you're otherwise OK at QB.

Commanders QB Sam Howell threw for 325 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in Sunday's win over the Patriots. He also took a more-reasonable-than-usual 3 sacks in the game. It marks the second straight week of at least 325 yards for Howell, who gets a plus matchup with the Seahawks in Week 10 as well. A home date with the Giants in Week 11 looks trickier. They've been the fifth-toughest scoring matchup for QBs on the season, according to our adjusted fantasy points allowed. And the Giants just held Washington to 7 points while sacking Howell six times in their Week 7 meeting. Another positive outing for Howell in Week 10, however, could make him tough to leave out of the top 12 for that week. After that sit a negative matchup with Dallas and a positive spot vs. Miami before a Week 14 bye.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini hears that, "there is a strong belief in the building that the Commanders have found their franchise quarterback in Sam Howell, and now it’s about building for 2024." Howell has taken too many sacks this season but has completed 67% of his passes at a decent 7.0 yards per attempt. He's certainly not a finished product, but it sounds like Howell has shown enough to at least be Washington's starter in 2024. He's a solid hold in dynasty leagues.

Commanders QB Sam Howell had an efficient outing in Week 6 vs. the Falcons, completing 14 of 23 passes for 151 yards with 3 TDs. Each of Howell’s scoring tosses on Sunday came within 25 yards of the end zone and returned a very solid 18.3 fantasy points despite the lack of passing yardage. With this performance, Howell has now finished as the QB13 or better in five of six games in 2023. Week 7’s matchup vs. the Giants sets up nicely for the second-year starter to continue his streak of fantasy relevance.

QB Sam Howell and the Commanders were pathetic in the first half of Thursday night's game vs. the Bears, digging themselves a 27-3 hole. Howell headed into the break with just 71 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT on 9-of-13 passing. He chucked it another 38 times in catch-up mode in the second half, though, and threw for 317 yards and a pair of scores to finish with a 388-2-1 passing line. It wound up being a strong fantasy outing -- but it's tough to feel good about Howell moving forward after this performance. He failed to get WR Terry McLaurin (4-49-0) or WR Jahan Dotson (3-30-0) going and took another five sacks against a Bears defense that had TOTALED two sacks over the first four weeks. Howell gets favorable matchups again the next two weeks vs. the Falcons and Giants but won't be a recommended QB1 play.

Commanders QB Sam Howell threw for 290 yards and a TD -- with 0 INTs -- in Sunday's OT loss at Philadelphia. He found WR Jahan Dotson for the game-tying score at the end of the fourth quarter but watched the team's other two TDs get scored on the ground. Howell added 40 rushing yards on 6 carries. That more than doubled his rushing-yardage total from any of the first three games. It was an encouraging outing for the second-year QB, especially after his brutal 4-INT performance in Week 3. Howell carries some superflex and deep-league appeal into a Week 5 home date with Chicago.

Commanders QB Sam Howell tallied only 170 passing yards, 0 TDs, and 4 picks in Week 3. He took 9 sacks in the loss to Buffalo. The first-year starter didn’t have much of a chance in this one, as the Bills pressured him on 69.2% of his dropbacks (per Next Gen Stats). Howell faces another tough matchup next week at Philly.

Commanders QB Sam Howell completed 19 passes on 31 attempts for 202 passing yards with 1 TD and 1 INT vs. the Cardinals. The first-year starter also contributed a rushing TD with 11 yards on the ground in Sunday’s win. Other than the INT and a lost fumble, Howell played relatively well. Given his lack of NFL experience, fantasy managers can only hope production goes up from here. The 2022 fifth-round pick with have a chance to improve against the Broncos in Week 2.

Per ESPN's John Keim, Commanders HC Ron Rivera feels QB Sam Howell has a chance to be "really good" for the team this season. "For three seasons, I've always felt that I had a question mark [about quarterback]," shared Rivera, adding that the team feels "very strongly ... going into this season that we've got a guy." Though Howell made just one start last year, the team liked how he developed as a rookie enough that they're prepared for him to be the starter in 2023. A fifth-round pick in last year's NFL Draft, Howell will have an opportunity to work in an offense under the tutelage of ex-Chiefs OC Eric Biemiemy with a strong supporting cast of pass-catchers. Check out where Howell appears in our current QB rankings.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera named QB Sam Howell the Week 1 starter. There was never much doubt that Howell would get the nod to open the season. The question is whether he'll play well enough to keep backup QB Jacoby Brissett off the field. Howell has had a nice training camp by all accounts and looked good in Washington's preseason opener.

Poor QB play limited Commanders WR Jahan Dotson in 2022. Still, he flashed true Round 1 talent with 14.9 yards per catch and 7 scores. He did so despite missing five games with an early-season hamstring injury. Year two brings a QB change with Sam Howell likely to start. Washington will also break in new OC Eric Bieniemy. “Exciting. … A lot of down-the-field plays," Dotson said of Bieniemy’s offense, per The Athletic. “We’re going to stretch the field, make the defense really work.” Dotson should see plenty of downfield opportunities alongside Howell, who wasn’t shy about throwing deep at North Carolina. The 23-year-old sits just outside WR3 range in our 2023 WR rankings.

Commanders HC Ron Rivera said QB Sam Howell has “shown us [the coaching staff] what we want to see.” Howell will enter training camp as the team’s starter. “He's young, we know he is young,” Rivera said. “There was a lot of room for growth, and we know that, but he's got a good skillset. He's mobile, he’s got good foot movement, he's got quick twitch to him, good decision maker. He is still learning to make those decisions, but he's also got the arm talent and that's the thing that that excites us.” Howell’s learning a new system under OC Eric Bieniemy, one that utilizes a word-based play-calling system -- not the numbers-based one Howell learned in 2022. So far so good on that front, though. We’ll learn a lot more about Howell’s progress when training camp arrives. He remains a QB3 in best ball drafts.