A year ago, the Commanders spent significant money on quarterback Carson Wentz last season and it didn’t work out. This season, Commanders coach Ron Rivera hopes a more moderate expenditure on quarterbacks allows the Commanders to use more salary cap space elsewhere.
Rivera said that having Sam Howell on the second year of his rookie deal and Jacoby Brissett on a one-year, $8 million contract is a positive development in Washington. Rivera also noted the contract signed by Daron Payne as one that leaves cap space available for the rest of the roster.
“We’re in a position right now that we can sign guys because of the quarterback situation,” Rivera said. “We have Jacoby with his contract and Sam on a rookie’s contract. So we have a moderate hit from that position, which allows us to do some of the things that we did. We were fortunate that we were able to work with Daron and his agent and get a contract that was friendly for us and helps us out with his contract.”
If there’s any position where teams are justified in spending a lot of money, it’s quarterback. The Chiefs didn’t regret what they spent to re-sign Patrick Mahomes while they celebrated winning this year’s Super Bowl, nor did the Rams regret the cost in draft picks and salary cap space they spent on Matthew Stafford a year before, nor did the Buccaneers regret the cap space they spent to sign Tom Brady in free agency a year before that.
So the Commanders may build a strong roster around Howell and Brissett, but quarterback is one position where teams don’t need to be frugal if they find the right guy.