The Washington Commanders have way too many quarterbacks on their roster — 5 in total — which means something’s going to give before the team is forced to cut its roster to 53 on Aug. 27.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon suggested the Commanders should cut journeyman quarterback Jeff Driskel and go into the season with just two quarterbacks in rookie starter Jayden Daniels and veteran backup Marcus Mariota.
One of the other two quarterbacks, Sam Hartman or Trace McSorley, could be stashed on the practice squad and used, if necessary, under the NFL’s emergency third quarterback rule. Driskel could be an option there as well.
Just not on the active roster.
“Thanks to the emergency third QB rule, Washington doesn’t need to hold a third active quarterback,” Kenyon wrote. “We know Jayden Daniels is the starter, and we know Marcus Mariota is the backup. There’s no competition to settle. Whether the Commanders want Jeff Driskel, Sam Hartman or Trace McSorley on the practice squad is a bigger conversation than stashing a third QB on the active roster.”
The Commanders signed Driskel, who is entering his ninth season, to a 1-year, $1.125 million contract on April 1.
Driskel On Eighth NFL Team in Lengthy Career
Driskel was a part-time starter at the University of Florida for three seasons before transferring to Louisiana Tech for his final college season in 2015, when he threw for 4,026 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Driskel was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round (No. 206 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. After the 49ers released Driskel, he played three seasons as a backup for the Cincinnati Bengals before bouncing around the league for the last decade.
The Commanders are his eighth team in nine seasons.
The results for Driskel when he’s been forced into a starting role have not been good. He’s 1-11 as a starter over his career, with his only victory coming when he started a career-high 5 games for the Bengals in 2018.
Exciting Times at Quarterback for Commanders
It’s been a long time since the Commanders have had this much optimism headed into a season. Most of those good feelings seem to be centered on the ascendence of Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft after winning the Heisman Trophy at LSU in 2023.
Daniels won the training camp battle over Mariota to become Washington’s starting quarterback and did so in seemingly convincing fashion.
How well Daniels has played may have imbued the Commanders coaching staff with enough confidence that a third quarterback on the 53-man roster no longer seemed as critical as it did before the draft.
With the question of who will play quarterback for the Commanders answered, the bigger question for the team now seems to be who will protect Daniels’ blind side at left offensive tackle. Currently, rookie Brandon Coleman and veteran Cornelius Lucas seem to be neck-and-neck for the honor.
Coleman 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, was a third-round pick (No. 67 overall) after earning All-Big 12 Conference honors at TCU in 2023.
The Buccaneers open the season on Sept. 8 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
