QB Carousel: Brian Mitchell, Former Washington Commanders Running Back

Step right up here.

Don't be shy. The Super Bowl is over, but the NFL quarterback carousel is just beginning. You've got to ask yourself a question.

Do I feel lucky? What does the future hold for all 32 NFL teams at the QB position? Now I'm going to give you an opportunity to spin this wheel right here. Let's spin the wheel and find out which teams we hit today. The Washington Commanders. Alright, let's welcome in a former NFL player who does a great job now.

Midday is a 106-7 the fan in our nation's capital. And that of course is Brian Mitchell. Brian, appreciate you doing this. How are you? I'm good, man. How you doing?

Well, I'm doing fantastic. So I want to take you back to last week when we found out that Eric Bienemey is going to be the new offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. Just how did you process that in the entire conversation of people thinking the enemy needed to leave the Chiefs and go and make a lateral move in order to become a head coach one day?

Well, I don't understand why he had to do that. I think he's showing he's as good as anybody out there who's gotten the job. But for us to get him here is exciting.

Everybody seems to be happy. And I think it will probably be the most exciting move you're going to see here with the commanders in all seasons. Eric has been on this team for the last five years or so as an offensive coordinator. And you look at the success they've had now. We know that it's not the same type of talent that they have right there in Kansas City. But hopefully with those receivers and running backs they have, they can find a quarterback who can come in and at least hold his own to try to make things happen. Why do you think he has not become a head coach in this league yet?

I don't have a clue. We hear different things every year. And it just seems like some people, the goalposts keep getting moved. He's done well enough.

He's shown well enough to do it. Some people use excuse about it. He does an interview well and things like that. I think they find ways to make excuses as to why.

But the real reason, I don't think anybody knows. And it is bizarre to me how quickly he gets the job with the commanders. But he's been on, what, 15 or 16 interviews as a head coach?

I know it's a different position, but he hasn't been able to land that gig as a head coach yet. Yeah. I mean, it's strange.

I think I heard Travis Kelce make the comment that last year he kept seeing all these people get jobs that they had never heard of. And I think that's the thing about it. You see him. You know his name.

You know what he's doing. But still, every time he came up for a job, he never ended up with one. The real reason? Nobody really knows. I'm waiting to really hear somebody come out and enlighten us and let us know because I think we've seen people get jobs and lose them.

And then those guys got jobs again. And you just can't understand why a guy like this can't get it. Do you think Grace plays a factor in here? I think it does. I played in the NFL 14 years. I know a lot of people like to act like it doesn't, but we all know it does. And I think that's the main thing where it's kind of hard to tell someone who to hire and spend money.

But ultimately, if you want to be fair and you want to act as if you're being fair, just go out there and do it. I can't believe in all this time that man didn't get a job when a lot of these other people have gotten jobs, lost them, and probably going to be moving on to another one somewhere else soon. Brian Mitchell here with us. So we keep on hearing about Sam Howell being QB 1 this year for the Commanders. Do you believe that he'll be starting Week 1 this year?

I don't know if I want to believe it or not. I think me and my co-host, what we say is that he's the only quarterback. He's the only quarterback under contract, Hunter Ross, at this point. They still have Carson Wentz, but we know he's going to be released.

Sam Howell came in last year, won game, and I think he played terrific. But ultimately, you don't know that for sure. Hopefully, he'll come here and do a lot with him where the next time he comes up for a head coaching job, he'll be able to get it easily. But I think one thing about the quarterback as a former quarterback, I've always said that quarterback is the most dependent position in all sports.

And Sam is going to find that out. Right now, his success goes on if they're going to get an offensive line. Will they make sure they have a line to protect the quarterback? Because if the offensive line is not good, the receivers can't get open, the running backs can't do much. But if you have those things, you have a good offensive line, the rest of the guys can stand up.

I believe if they can get a serviceable offensive line, those three receivers and those two running backs, they can do some special things with it. And I actually like this roster when you look at it from a skill position player standpoint. You have Terry McLaurin, who's great. Jihad Dotson had a really good rookie year. And then Brian Robinson Jr., what he was able to overcome.

I thought he had a solid season for all things considered. And also with the possibility of Snyder leaving the organization and selling the team, I look at the commanders as kind of an attractive destination. Well, I think that last thing you said is the most exciting thing everyone is looking for.

I think if that happens, it'll change up the way people look at things and they feel about it. But you look at what Terry McLaurin has done over these last three or four years with all these different quarterbacks. Jihad Dotson rolls in and how well he played. You know, Curtis Ammons is still here. You have Antonio Gibson still with Brian Robinson.

So I just think that they have to really go out there. And what's strange to me, a team that's had probably one of the most popular offensive lines in history, they don't seem to address the offensive line anymore. If they can address the offensive line like they've done with the defensive line, I think good things happen very pretty much.

Brian Mitchell here with us. So last year it surprised a lot of people that they made the move for Carson Wentz. Could you see them maybe getting involved with Jimmy G or Derek Carr this offseason? Well, I think if they hadn't gone with Ryan Fitzpatrick and then went with Carson Wentz and they did not have the success, I would believe that they would.

At this point, I'm kind of hesitant to think that they will because I'm looking at the amount of money those guys may cost. You know, and I think if they're trying to still build a team to go out and get a quarterback right now will kind of take them away from getting what they really need to get. I believe you can have an average or above-average quarterback with a better offensive line with the skill position that they have and have a lot more success than going to put a lot of money into a quarterback, a $35, $40 million quarterback, and then you can't build an offensive line.

I think you won't have as much stress. With all those things being said, have fans been advocating for this team to try to go get Rodgers? Whenever Rodgers comes up, some people get excited, but I think people see that as that's going to be a last resort. Aaron Rodgers makes, what, $50 million a year? You know, if you can't build against some of these other guys, I don't know if you get it with him. And then the thing about it, listen, everybody gets old. Kyle Brady kind of made us think that everybody's going to play forever, but everybody gets old in football.

And Aaron Rodgers last year, I don't think he had a very good season. You know, and right now, if you go get him, how long is he going to be here doing something? And will you be able to have enough people around him?

I mean, I think that question has to be answered. But I would say, you know, anytime you get a talent like him, you try it, but I just don't see it happening. Brian Mitchell here with us. Are fans losing patience with Ron Rivera? A lot of them have already. You know, I think when you come in, the way he came in with all of the luster and, you know, how he's going to change culture and things like that, and they don't see it very soon, they begin to question things. And not having those successful seasons, you know, 7-9 one year, they end up winning the NFC East. And then they come back in 7-10. And now, you know, 8-1 last year, he said it was a major step, but I don't think any fans see that as a major step. Another thing I want to ask you, right now that they're sitting with the 16th pick in the draft, you know, maybe a quarterback falls, maybe a dozen, could you see this team at all moving up in the draft to go get that quarterback? I don't know if they will move up, but I think they will address somebody in the quarterback position.

I think you have to. We've seen, and when you, I'll tell you earlier, I started just looking at the history since 1999 when Dan Snyder took over this team. And it's not many years where one quarterback can play the whole season.

And a lot of times it's been four quarterbacks and three quarterbacks. So you've got to have somebody, and I would think that when you have a young guy like a Sam Hobbs, that's what you're going to do. You want to have somebody with a little experience on the roster and maybe another young quarterback. I think they have to address it some way, but I don't know if they're going to move up or try to go get an experienced veteran that costs a lot of money. But I think that they see a lot in Sam. You know, if he had come out a year prior, he would have probably been drafted in the first round.

But he stayed, and when a lot of his talent left and all of his production went down. But we'll see. I think the thing about it is every quarterback in this game today, the ones that get the ball out of their hands quickly into the hands of their playmakers, they have a lot of success.

Hopefully Sam will do that. Brian Mitchell, before we let you run, you played for three teams out of the four in the NFC East. Your outlook on the NFC East moving into this year is what? Well, I still believe the Eagles are the team to beat.

Dallas every year, you know, the team I didn't play for, they always seem to be this team with all this talent, but they just can't seem to get over the hump. And I look at what the Giants are in Washington, they're going to have to figure it out. The Giants played terrific last year, and it shows that coaching matters. And I think this year, Ron Rivera is going to have to coach better.

You know, he's going to have to make sure he gets more out of his players. The rumor by the enemy is that Eric holds people accountable. A lot of people don't see, they see something wrong with that.

I absolutely love it. I grew up in a military household, and if you're going to have to go out there and handle business, you need to know what you're going to do, and people should question you and hold you accountable. So, if he can get accountability on this football team, I think that they're a step above the Giants, but they're still behind the Cowboys and Eagles at this point. Have there been fans at all since the B enemy hiring that go, okay, maybe that's the guy that places Rivera? Yep.

Oh, believe me. Since they added the assistant head coach, everyone has automatically assumed that he's the next in line. There are people who have gone so far that they say that the new ownership that's going to be possibly coming in, they had a discussion with him and they put this in order. So, you know how it is. When things happen, you start hearing all types of rumors. That's some theory. Without even knowing who's going to purchase the team yet, they're already making moves to run the team.

That's Washington, though. I absolutely love it. Brian Mitchell, appreciate the time. Thank you. All right, man. Take care. Have a good one.