New Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell should be irritated by Dan Quinn's comments

Sam Howell made the best out of a bad situation when he played for the Washington Commanders last year. In his first full season as a starter in the league, Howell might have thrown 21 interceptions but he also threw 21 touchdown passes behind a wretched offensive line and for a team that lacked much leadership. As thanks, Washington shipped him to the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.

In essence, Howell went from starter to backup in Seattle. Maybe Washington was going to take a quarterback with their first pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but they could choose to do something else. The Commanders have a lot of needs and getting one potentially good quarterback is not going to fix everything.

Washington could have stuck with Howell and built the team overall. If Washington were to trade back, they might still have a high first-round pick but also maybe add another first-round selection. There were a lot of possibilities if Washington had simply kept Howell where he was. Now everyone can safely assume Washington will choose a quarterback.

Sam Howell might be an inspired quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks

Washington fired its head coach after the season and brought in Dan Quinn for the job. Quinn was, of course, the former defensive coordinator for the Seahawks during the 2013 and 20014 seasons. But with Quinn in charge, he and the rest of the Washington brass decided Howell was not good enough to keep.

This is why Howell, who seems like a calm and poised 23-year-old, should be miffed because Quinn's recent comments about the quarterback contradict any reason to trade Howell to Seattle. Quinn was effusive in his praise for Howell this week during a question-and-answer event at the NFL's annual owners meetings. Maybe the Washington new coach was simply being nice, but Howell could still use the words (and the truth that he was traded to the Seahawks) as motivation.

Quinn said, "I was as Sam as a competitive, tough guy. And I thought once in a while in our league there's a good win-win that takes place. And I think Sam heading to Seattle, they're excited to have him. He's got a great opportunity there with those guys. For us, you know, Marcus (Mariota) being here, you know, that was an opportunity that we want to do as well. So, every once in a while, those win-wins happen but I certainly respect who the player is. I got a chance to coach against him and that's what I told him when we spoke."

So the Commanders won by trading Howell and keeping Mariota is how Howell could interpret that. If he does, good. Ultimately, if Howell gets the chance to play for the Seahawks and uses Quinn's words as motivation that just serves a purpose for what is most important: Helping the Seahawks win.

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