Logan Paulsen, an NFL veteran of eight years and guest on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast, Monday, shared his observations and predictions of what he sees in the quarterback battle between Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.
“Getting a rookie quarterback to be your long-term starter allows you to do a lot of different things, so I understand Ron’s (Rivera) affinity and philosophy in wanting to give Sam Howell the first crack,” Paulsen said.
“I also know Jacoby Brissett understands what it means to be a true backup in the NFL. He also played starting-caliber football last year. Notice I didn’t say he is a high-end backup. He was a starting-caliber player last year.”
Jacoby Brissett in a Cleveland uniform beat Tom Brady. #Browns #NFL pic.twitter.com/p6g8bECuA2
— Ed_in_Columbus (@ed_in_columbus) March 15, 2023
“They are bringing in an excellent teammate, a guy that will get himself ready if something were to go sideways with Sam Howell, even in the 12th hour is a guy who can still win you football games.”
Paulsen expressed he feels Howell will be the QB1 to get started but also believes the Commanders were wise to insulate themselves well with the addition of Brissett.
“I would guess Sam is going to get the majority of starter reps, and they are going to expect Jacoby to learn the offense, getting limited starter reps and majority QB2 reps.” Paulsen continued they will trust Brissett to learn the offense getting those reps, preparing himself to become ready to go. He said Howell will have the offseason, OTAs and training camp to learn the new offense of Eric Bieniemy.
Then added, “If for some reason it is not where you want it to be, you got Jacoby Brissett in the wings, who can step in, be the starter for a little bit and then step out, if they feel Sam gets himself ready at some point this year.”
“It’s hard for me now to see Sam giving them a better opportunity than Jacoby, given what I saw from Jacoby last year.” Paulsen elaborated, saying Brissett did a better job in Cleveland than Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz did for Washington in 2022.
Paulsen was quick to point out that coaches liked Howell’s progress last year during practices. But Howell is going to be learning a new offense and Paulsen said if Howell is picking up the new offense effectively, then he has no doubt Howell will have the opportunity to be the Week 1 starter.