The Washington Commanders went all in on Carson Wentz — then, they went ahead and drafted quarterback Sam Howell, which the NFL world found amusing.
The Washington Commanders have made bold moves all offseason: first with their rebranding efforts, then with their decision to trade for quarterback Carson Wentz and inherit his $28 million contract.
Now, the Commanders opened up the fifth round of the NFL Draft with a bang, drafting UNC quarterback Sam Howell with the opening pick at No. 144.
Sam Howell goes to the Commanders in the 5th Round, Pick 144.
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) April 30, 2022
The heir to Carson Wentz in DC. pic.twitter.com/BWj14L0cxe
While seeing Howell slide was unexpected, seeing him chosen by Washington wasn’t: Howell is “a natural fit in Scott Turner’s offense,” according to NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid.
Much earlier, but had Sam Howell to WAS in my final 7-round mock. Love the fit. Gives them Carson Wentz insurance and he’s a natural fit in Scott Turner’s offense.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) April 30, 2022
The Commanders did a lot of homework on QBs and had a heavy presence at Pro Days.
The Howell pick makes sense for the Commanders, but everyone is already speculating about how Carson Wentz feels about the move, especially since he reportedly wasn’t too happy about the arrival of Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.
Twitter reacts to how Sam Howell pick affects Carson Wentz
As the Commanders take another quarterback, the immediate reaction was imaging how Carson Wentz must be taking the news. The general consensus was that he likely wasn’t taking it all that well.
Carson Wentz is famouly good on responding to his team drafting a QB so this will go well.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) April 30, 2022
Carson Wentz watching the draft pic.twitter.com/MRpaOqBDAo
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 30, 2022
Carson Wentz right now pic.twitter.com/QjBek43Xj2
— Justin Lever ❤️⚾️ (@JustinLever3) April 30, 2022
Washington Commanders select Sam Howell
— Jeff Ratcliffe (@JeffRatcliffe) April 30, 2022
Carson Wentz: pic.twitter.com/PpsHFLL2OD
If there's one thing we know about Carson Wentz, it's that he responds well to the challenge of his team drafting a QB.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) April 30, 2022
Carson Wentz watching two consecutive offseasons of the Eagles providing their QB with WRs with better skill sets than the ones from Walmart he was provided with pic.twitter.com/Q2jJJ2fbIJ
— Chris Infante (@Infante54) April 29, 2022
How long until Sam Howell replaces Carson Wentz? I'm kidding, sort of.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) April 30, 2022
Carson Wentz right now pic.twitter.com/4K8gDbERr7
— joe schiavi (@ScoundrelPrez) April 30, 2022
In a hilarious contemporary twist, one person joked that Wentz had already removed the Commanders from his social media profiles, a reference to what players like Kyler Murray, Deebo Samuel, AJ Brown and Jalen Reagor have done to express dissatisfaction with their respective teams.
If Wentz is upset, he isn’t the guy for Washington anyway.
5th round for Sam Howell made too much sense to pass up. If Carson Wentz is mad about a 5th round QB, then Carson Wentz isnt the answer anyway
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) April 30, 2022
Perhaps the Howell pick can serve as further motivation for the Commanders quarterback, who might just be spending his summer sitting at home reviewing film.
While Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray goof off at an NBA playoff game, Carson Wentz is at home drinking protein shakes and watching film as he prepares to the lead the Washington Commanders to the Super Bowl.
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) April 26, 2022
But if Wentz falters as he has his past few seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising if there are quickly calls to replace Wentz with Howell the way Bears fans called for Matt Nagy to replace Andy Dalton with Justin Fields.
I’m with @MoveTheSticks. The Sam Howell momentum will be strong if/when Carson Wentz has a few bad games this comming season.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) April 30, 2022
Howell will likely develop under Wentz in 2022, but that doesn’t mean that Wentz will be all that welcoming to a potential challenger to the throne.