7 Commanders players (and coaches) that won't be back in 2024
By Dean Jones
Jacoby Brissett - Commanders QB
When Jacoby Brissett joined the Washington Commanders in free agency, he harbored legitimate ambitions to be the team's starting quarterback in 2023. This came after an encouraging spell filling in for Deshaun Watson on the Cleveland Browns in 2022, leading to one of the league's highest QBR scores before moving to the bench.
It was clear from early on Brissett's hopes would be dashed. Head coach Ron Rivera hung his hat on second-year-pro Sam Howell thriving from a staring role, which he's done effectively aside from the odd poor performance along the way.
This relegated Brissett to permanent backup duties. His role as a mentor for Howell cannot be ignored, but the signal-caller probably wishes the Browns had increased their trade offer before the deadline given that Watson's gone to injured/reserve with a shoulder complication that will rule him out for the entire campaign.
When one looks at the current state of affairs around the league with so many starting quarterbacks going down, the market for Brissett should be robust in free agency. With so much uncertainty surrounding the Commanders and their impending changes, the chances of him taking his gifts and veteran leadership elsewhere are high.
Brissett is highly respected within the locker room and Howell no doubt owes him a great deal after assisting his transition. But in reality, this was always going to be a short-term arrangement.