Ranking every Commanders starting quarterback from the Dan Snyder era

B – as in BETTER

Tony Banks - Former Commanders QB

• Record: 8-6

Tony Banks is the forgotten quarterback in recent Washington history. He wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t especially accurate. But there’s an interesting stat associated with Banks.

After flaming out in St. Louis at the beginning of his career, Banks started games over four more years with three different teams. And in those, he never posted a losing record as a starter.

Somehow, he just managed to win. Banks was the quarterback Marty Schottenheimer turned to after ditching Jeff George, who wasn’t the only veteran the coach jettisoned.

The team was going through a major transition and it showed early on. But somehow, Schottenheimer and Banks kept plugging away and ended up going 8-3 over the final 11 weeks of the season.

Still, Snyder fired Marty, and new coach Steve Spurrier thought his Florida Gator stars were better than Banks. They weren’t.

Alex Smith - Former Commanders QB

• Record: 11-5

Alex Smith’s 2020 return from a life-threatening injury is one of the few inspiring stories from the Dan Snyder ownership era. He had proven to be a solid game manager in 2018 before his injury and then missed the entire 2019 season.

When he did take over from Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen in 2020, he was largely an immobile, one-legged quarterback. Yet somehow, he still produced wins, and despite deteriorating health which would lead to his retirement, he managed to drag Washington into the playoffs.

Taylor Heinicke - Former Commanders QB

• Record: 12-11

Smith wasn’t healthy enough to suit up for those playoffs. Thus the legend of Taylor Heinicke was born.

I’ll freely admit I was never sold on Heinicke. He has a subpar NFL arm and constantly either missed throws or else endangered his receivers with high floaters. However, there’s no denying that the Washington Commanders played better when he was under center than they did when high-profile guys like Dwayne Haskins or Carson Wentz were there.

At the beginning of this list, I said I may have devalued Jeff George too much due to the expectation that accompanied him. I may be doing the reverse with Heinicke.

Maybe he should be a few spots lower. But Heinicke had no business starting a playoff game against Tom Brady, and he came very close to winning it.

Washington has always loved its longshot backup quarterbacks – whether it’s Babe Laufenberg or Colt Brennan. But those guys never get a real chance to play beyond the pre-season. Heinicke is the longshot backup who actually got a chance to play – and he did pretty well for himself.

Robert Griffin III - Former Commanders QB

• Record: 14-21

Robert Griffin III is the most skilled starting quarterback Washington has had dating back to at least the days of Joe Theismann. His 2012 rookie season ranks with Mark Rypien’s 1991 year and a handful of Sammy Baugh seasons as the best ever for a signal-caller.

Like others on this list, he was sabotaged by the subpar management system that failed to protect his interests. And like others on this list, he must bear some of the blame for what happened.

Griffin insisted on doing things he should not have been allowed to do. He was also never able to transition to the role of pocket passer once his legs were damaged.

The former first-round pick remains one of the great 'what might have been' players in franchise history. He was never very good after his rookie season. But that rookie season – oh my. That’s something longtime Commanders fans will never forget.