While it received less fanfare than other quarterback news of the day, the Commanders’ signing of Jacoby Brissett is significant in its own right.
Per ESPN’s John Keim, the deal with Washington is for one year and up to $10 million, with $8 million guaranteed.
Last season, Brissett outperformed Deshaun Watson, whom Cleveland signed to a five-year, $230 million guaranteed contract last offseason.
Brissett, who started 11 games for the Browns, went 236-of-369 (64 percent) passing for 2,608 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Watson started six games and completed 58.2 percent of his passes (99-of-170) for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
Per Football Outsiders’ defense-adjusted value over average metric, Brissett was 13 percent better than a league-average QB, the seventh-highest mark last season. Watson, by comparison, was 16.6 percent worse.
While he has developed a reputation as a game manager and reliable backup, Brissett demonstrated last season might not necessarily be his ceiling.
Last month, head coach Ron Rivera opened the doors for a QB battle this offseason when he declared Sam Howell was “not our starter.” Brissett will have every opportunity to win the job, and it wouldn’t be a shock if he received the nod in Week 1.
Based on last season, he’s already done enough to earn it.
