Is Jacoby Brissett The Commanders' QB1 In 2023? Fantasy Football Outlook

The Washington Commanders needed another quarterback after releasing Carson Wentz and allowing Taylor Heinicke to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. They got one in veteran play-caller Jacoby Brissett, who agreed to a one-year deal with the NFC East squad. He played 16 games for the Cleveland Browns last season, finishing with 2,608 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Brissett started for the Browns until Deshaun Watson returned from his 11-game suspension. Now, he gets to continue his career in the nation’s capital. Mind you that Washington’s financial commitment to him isn’t cheap. Aside from a fully-guaranteed $3 million base salary, he will also get a $4.5 million signing bonus and a $500,000 workout bonus. Brissett can also get up to $2 million additionally in incentives.

That’s 10 million dollars maximum, putting him in the top-tier pay range for backup quarterbacks. However, getting that much salary means that they see him starting some games. Does that mean the Commanders are not giving high marks about Sam Howell as their long-term starter? They drafted him in the fifth round of last year’s draft, and he is poised to be their Week 1 starter as the next man up.

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Hybrid Role For Brissett

The sample size for Howell isn’t much, having started the team’s final regular season game last year. He finished with 11 completions for 169 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Howell added 35 yards and a touchdown from the ground. He will be allowed to win the starting role, which would be an excellent position given the talent across the board on offense.

But while he can do enough to win the job in the offseason, his in-game performances will be the real measuring stick. Brissett can be a sage that imparts wisdom to Howell about reading defenses and going through progressions. However, it isn’t reassuring that the Commanders’ offensive line gave up 48 sacks last season, the sixth-most in the league. If the same protection problems continue, Howell might have difficulty facilitating the offense.

That’s when they turn to Brissett, who can manage the game and allow them to win. To his credit, he has never had a season wherein he played over 10 games and committed double-digit interceptions. He can take care of the ball and put them in a position to close out games. Yet, that’s not the optic Commanders fans are hoping, especially since they haven’t had a quarterback who became the starter for more than three seasons since 2000.

But if the Howell experiment crumbles, Brissett can help pick up the pieces and make football in Washington fun again.

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