“He just signed his walking paper after the season!” – Commanders coach Ron Rivera admitting he wasn’t aware of QB Sam Howell’s talents has fans questioning his judgment

Sam Howell was recently announced as the starting QB of the Commanders for the upcoming season.

“He just signed his walking paper after the season!” – Commanders coach Ron Rivera admitting he wasn’t aware of QB Sam Howell’s talents has fans questioning his judgment

Sam Howell (L) and Ron Rivera (R) (Credits: Imago)

The Washington Commanders recently announced that their former 5th-round draft pick Sam Howell will be their starting quarterback for the upcoming NFL season. Ron Rivera, the head coach of the Commanders has seemingly has immense confidence in Howell but recently he made the mistake of admitting now knowing how talented his player was.

“You can ask Stephanie, all we f—ing talked about was the quarterback, what the quarterback did, who he was,” Rivera said according to Sports Illustrated. “I kept saying, F—, if I would have known this, I would have played him sooner.”

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The veteran head coach Rivera implied he had doubts about Howell since he hasn’t seen much of the UNC product. But when Howell led the Commanders to a 26-6 victory against the Dallas Cowboys in the final week of the 2022 regular season, Rivera knew what he had in his hands.

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“When you only have so much time to show it, it’s hard, I kept thinking, God. But after that game, everything told me this kid, give him the opportunity and see what he does with it,” said Rivera.

In the game against the Cowboys, Howell completed 11 of his 19 pass attempts for 169 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also carried the rock 5 times for 35 yards and 1 rushing TD. Howell particularly impressed Rivera with the way he corrected his mistakes in the game.

Nonetheless, in an attempt to praise Sam Howell, Rivera just admitted that he didn’t know the potential one of his players had in them. Rivera admitted that did not sit well with fans on social media.

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Social media reacts to Ron Rivera’s take on Sam Howell

Sam Howell SI Commanders Ravens
Sam Howell (Via SI)

NFL fans on social media bashed Ron Rivera for admitting that he didn’t know the potential Sam Howell had. Fans insinuated that Rivera might end up losing his job after this season for a mistake like this. Check out some of the reactions below.

Howell sat behind Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz the entire 2022 season before taking over in the final week. Howell had a decent outing in the final game which led to Rivera giving him the 1st team reps in the off-season. Now, Howell is set to become the starting signal-caller of the Washington-based football team in the upcoming season.

Now, the Commanders will start their 2023 campaign with a fairly easy home game against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10. Howell and the Commanders have an opportunity to start their season with a big victory against the deflated Cardinals.

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