Ron Rivera shares regret about final year of Commanders tenure

Coach Ron Rivera admitted to John Keim of ESPN in his first public comments since he was fired by the Washington Commanders on Jan. 8 that he could've handled things differently regarding his going all-in on 2022 fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell serving as his starting quarterback. 

"I took a big gamble," Rivera explained. "I put a lot on Sam, and I probably shouldn't have put as much pressure on him, and I think that was probably one of the mistakes I made this year. He didn't deserve to have that put on him. He's a good young quarterback, has some talent and some ability, and I think that's something I should have backed off on." 

The Commanders were among a handful of clubs repeatedly linked with Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson after Baltimore used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Jackson's rights for 2023. Rivera insisted ahead of last year's draft that he felt "very comfortable" with Washington's quarterback situation at that time, and Jackson ultimately signed a five-year contract reportedly worth up to $260M (with $185M guaranteed) to stay with Baltimore. 

While Jackson likely will claim the second Most Valuable Player Award of his career next month, analysts such as Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports are predicting Washington will draft Howell's replacement this spring. The Commanders hold the rights to the second overall pick in this year's draft. 

According to ESPN stats, Howell finished this past regular season with a league-worst 21 interceptions and ranked 24th among qualified players with a 42.1 adjusted QBR. 

"I should have kept emphasizing he was going to be the guy that got the first opportunity," Rivera added about Howell. "... Just phrasing it that way would've taken a lot of pressure off of him, just kind of that he hadn't been anointed."

It seems unlikely that Rivera using different wording would've drastically altered the alleged competition between Howell and veteran Jacoby Brissett that took place during training camp and the preseason. New Commanders owner Josh Harris understandably hit the figurative reset button earlier this month after Washington went 4-13, and Rivera may wonder for years what could have been had he been able to work with Jackson for at least one campaign.