State of the Roster: Commanders Offense
Breaking down where things stand with the Commanders offense going into the offseason under a new coaching staff.
Last week I posted a State of the Roster piece looking in detail at the Commanders defense going into this offseason and evaluating positions of needs and potential free agents that could fit. Today it’s the turn of the offense. Dan Quinn has landed two offensive minds known for their work with quarterbacks and their passing attacks in offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and passing game coordinator Brian Johnson. It’s an interesting pairing but the team will need to nail the offensive line coach and perhaps a run game coordinator to ensure the offense finds a balance.
With those two hires in mind and having studied some of Kingsbury’s offense in Arizona, let’s take a closer look at the current state of the Commanders offense and evaluate who fits, who doesn’t and where the biggest needs are,
Quarterback
Under Contract: Sam Howell
Free Agents: Jacoby Brissett
Analysis: This is obviously the most important position on the team and it’s widely anticipated that the Commanders will be drafting a quarterback with the second overall pick come April. There will be plenty of time to dive into the rookie quarterbacks in the coming weeks and months, but for now let’s look at what Washington has and what it might look to add before the draft.
Sam Howell had an up and down year as the starter under Eric Bieniemy. The season certainly ended on a down slope, but I don’t believe that’s the end of Sam Howell’s career in the NFL. There were times this year he looked like a legitimate starting quarterback and he put out a lot of good tape this year. Obviously, there were issues too. The sacks were a big problem early on as he was holding onto the ball for too long, but he did a better job later in the year cutting down those sacks. He also had a few repeated issues crop up, like throwing interceptions trying to just throw the ball away and missing some opportunities for shots down the field. But there’s still a talented quarterback there.
Now I’m not for one minute suggesting that this regime is going to just roll with Howell and pass on taking a quarterback with a top two pick. Realistically, they’re going to draft a quarterback. But Howell could be a bridge to that quarterback if he’s deemed not ready to start right away and will be a valuable back up option. It’s been well documented that Kingsbury is good friends with Phil Longo, who was Howell’s coach in college. Longo ran his version of Kingsbury’s air raid system with Howell, so he will not only have familiarity and comfort in the system, but proven success running it in college. On top of that, Howell has quite a similar skill set to Jalen Hurts, who new passing game coordinator Brian Johnson helped develop from raw young talent into one of the better quarterbacks in the league.
So Howell will likely stick around and provide good competition for whatever rookie comes in and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s successful if he gets on the field this year, either as the bridge guy or due to injuries. However, Howell is also a young and developing quarterback still, so it’s entirely plausible that the Commanders will look to add a third quarterback to the room, preferably a veteran that has been around the league for a while and can help mentor Howell and the rookie, like Jacoby Brissett did this year for Howell, or someone that has experience in Kingsbury’s system.
Brissett would obviously be an option to retain, but I suspect he will have better options on the table. Brissett is a borderline starting quarterback in the NFL, he’s just not the long term option for anyone. So with Howell under contract and a rookie likely joining him, I’d be surprised if Brissett stays in Washington to be the third quarterback. I would think he could be a potential starter for a team that isn’t certain on a quarterback and can’t get up high enough in the draft to take one, or as the direct back up to a rookie somewhere else.
So then we look at Kingsbury and Johnson’s history with quarterbacks. The biggest name with a history with Kingsbury is Baker Mayfield, who just had a strong year in Tampa Bay. Now again, with the Commanders likely drafting a rookie quarterback, I doubt Mayfield is coming to Washington to compete with a rookie. He played well enough this year to have a legit shot at starting somewhere else. After Mayfield, the next two names that make sense are Brett Hundley, who played under Kingsbury in Arizona in 2019 and 2020, and Trace McSorley, who replaced Hundley as the back up quarterback in Arizona in 2021 and 2022.
Johnson also has some connections that would make sense. Gardner Minshew was the back up quarterback to Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia in 2021 and 2022, so he would have a strong familiarity with Brian Johnson who was the quarterbacks coach there during that time. However Minshew just proved how valuable he is as a back up quarterback this year in Indianapolis, backing up rookie Anthony Richardson (who Johnson just so happened to coach in college) when he went down injured. Marcus Mariota replaced Minshew as the back up quarterback in Philadelphia this year and he’s always been someone that has been praised for his professionalism and work ethic, so perhaps he would fit as a mentor to a rookie and Sam Howell too.
Ultimately it will likely be a rookie quarterback starting and Sam Howell as the primary back up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the team brought in someone like McSorley or Mariota as the third quarterback.
Running Backs
Under Contract: Brian Robinson, Chris Rodriguez
Free Agents: Antonio Gibson
Analysis: Despite the Commanders hardly running the ball this year, Brian Robinson still had a strong second season. He looked much sharper than his rookie year and was able to cut and explode much more a year removed from being shot. His power remained and he also showed off his catching ability too. Kingsbury used more gap scheme than zone scheme runs in Arizona, which should suit Robinson’s game well. The offensive line coach could have a significant impact on that though, as offensive line coaches typically coordinate the run game too and Kingsbury was very much known as a pass game specialist. So the offensive line coach hire is a critical one, but even if that coach is more zone oriented, Robinson improved his zone running this year to a point I think the staff would be comfortable calling him the starter regardless of scheme.
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