Since Daniel Snyder bought the Washington franchise in 1999, he’s always been front and center when it involved the quarterback position.
Snyder’s first disastrous move was choosing Jeff George over Brad Johnson. We know how that one turned out. Regardless of who Snyder hired as his coach, he always seemed to pick the quarterback.
When Snyder hired college legend Steve Spurrier as head coach, it was Snyder who chose Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsey in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft. Ramsey and Spurrier weren’t a solid match.
In 2010, after hiring two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Shanahan, Snyder engineered a trade for past-his-prime Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Another terrible match. McNabb was benched for veteran Rex Grossman in his only season with Washington.
Then there was 2012 and Robert Griffin III. Snyder gave up multiple first-round picks to move up to No. 2 and select the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner despite Shanahan’s hesitance. At first, it worked out brilliantly as offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan designed an offense perfect for Griffin’s skills at the time.
In that same draft, Shanahan chose Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.
We all know how the Griffin situation played out. Cousins ended up replacing him, played two years on the franchise tag, and bolted. Snyder blew it at every turn with Cousins — Washington’s best passer in years.
There was the 2018 trade for Alex Smith. Was it Snyder or Bruce Allen who was behind that move? This was a good move, but considering Washington had to trade for Smith after only receiving a third-round compensatory pick for Cousins was beyond disappointing.
In 2019, Snyder pushed for Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, reportedly because his son went to high school with Haskins. Head coach Ron Rivera released Haskins late in 2020.
This past offseason, with Snyder facing allegations of harassment and multiple investigations, the now-Commanders traded for Indianapolis quarterback Carson Wentz. This was considered a Rivera move.
Or was it?
In an explosive ESPN story from October, it was revealed that Snyder was allegedly behind the Wentz trade.
“It was 100% a Dan move,” the ESPN report stated.
Rivera passionately and vehemently denied that it was a Snyder move.
On Thursday, when the House Committee on Oversight and Reform released its report on the investigation of Snyder and the team, it also released transcripts of Snyder’s deposition.
Yes, the Wentz situation was mentioned, and Snyder gave credit to general manager Martin Mayhew for the trade.
It was actually Martin Mayhew’s entire strategy. I called Martin after congratulating him. I was ecstatic about it, and they called me prior to the move and said we’re doing this. I jumped for joy.
Then there was the following exchange on if Snyder was involved with the Wentz trade.
Q: Beyond congratulating him and jumping for joy, what, if anything, else was your involvement?
A: They called up — we own the club, me and Tanya, and both Tanya and I called Carson Wentz and congratulated him. Went to dinner with Carson Wentz and his wife to welcome him to D.C., at our home.
Q: Is it your testimony that you were not heavily involved in acquiring Carson Wentz as quarterback?
A: No, I was not heavily involved in it, no.
Q: Were you moderately involved?
A: I was updated and kept informed, and supported the decision.
History suggests Snyder did have more to do with the Wentz trade than was initially believed. However, Rivera has stated otherwise.
Regardless, the trade hasn’t quite worked out for Washington, but not all due to Wentz. He fractured a finger on his throwing hand in Week 6, and Taylor Heinicke took over, leading the Commanders to five wins in his seven starts.