2023 NFL free agency: Commanders to sign Jacoby Brissett, 'fired up' to have veteran compete with Sam Howell

Brissett outplayed his replacement in Cleveland in 2022, the well-compensated Deshaun Watson

By Garrett Podell

Mar 15, 2023 at 5:43 pm ET • 1 min read

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With only two quarterbacks on the Commanders' roster -- 2022 fifth round pick Sam Howell (one career start) and 2020 fifth-round pick Jake Fromm (two career starts) -- Washington is expected to sign Jacoby Brissett, according to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones.

Adding Brissett gives Eric Bieniemy, the team's new assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, a mentor for Howell, who entered this offseason as Washington's top quarterback. Having the seven-year veteran on the team has Washington "fired up," according to CBS Sports HQ's Josina Anderson.

"He [Brissett] will come in to compete to start. There are a lot of good things about who he is as a person," a team source told Anderson.

The 30-year-old passer has seen it all in his seven seasons as an NFL quarterback. He served as the New England Patriots' third-string quarterback his rookie year behind Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo after being selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Brissett was then traded to the Indianapolis Colts the following offseason in 2017 in exchange for wide receiver Phillip Dorsett since Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was set to miss that entire season because of a shoulder injury. He threw for a career-high 3,098 yards, 13 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions in 15 starts that season.

Brissett returned to the bench in 2018 when Luck became healthy enough to play, but he then became the Colts' starter again in 2019 after Luck retired just before the start of the season. Brissett tossed a career-high 18 touchdown passes to only six interceptions that season shortly after signing a two-year, $30 million extension. He started five games in 2021 for an injured Tua Tagovailoa after being picked up by the Miami Dolphins in free agency, and he most recently played for the Cleveland Browns in 2022, starting 11 games in place of the then-suspended Deshaun Watson. Brissett posted a career-high 88.9 passer rating in Cleveland last season while also completing a career-high 64% of his throws with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

With Watson returning after over a year-and-a-half off from football, Brissett outplayed the quarterback with the fully guaranteed, $230 million contract.