Who Should I Start? Sam Hartman or Will Howard

Saturday, August 23, 10:39 PM

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman completed 12 of 17 passes for 114 yards and two interceptions in a 30-3 loss against the Ravens. Hartman also took two sacks for seven yards while playing the whole first half. One of the interceptions was an unfortunate batted ball, but the other was a late and weak throw where the defender easily undercut it. The Notre Dame product struggled again in the final game of the preseason. He completed only 53.3 percent of his passes while throwing four interceptions to no touchdowns across the three games. It remains to be seen if Washington will opt to to keep three quarterbacks on the roster, and if they did, it seems veteran Josh Johnson would be the choice. Both would be options for the practice squad regardless, but Hartman's lackluster camp and preseason makes it unlikely for him to make the final roster.

Monday, September 1, 11:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (hand) remains in line to operate as the team's No. 3 quarterback once he's healthy enough to play. For now, Howard will miss the first four games of the regular season after being placed on injured reserve. However, once Pittsburgh activates him, he should replace Skylar Thompson as the third-string quarterback behind veterans Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Howard had an impressive senior season at Ohio State as he completed 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to a national title. Howard didn't get into a preseason game, so Pittsburgh would truly need to have a quarterback emergency for the rookie to play a snap this season. However, plenty of teams have been forced to play or even start their third-string quarterback before, so we can't rule out Howard getting some reps when he's eventually activated in Week 5 or later.