Washington DC - Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera announced Friday that second-year pro Sam Howell will begin the NFL season as the team's starting quarterback.

Howell beat out veteran Jacoby Brissett to start Washington's season opener against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10.

The 2022 fifth-round pick started the Commanders' final game of last season and entered the offseason as the favorite to win the job, though the team added the more experienced Brissett in March to provide competition.

Howell won the battle with a strong performance in the Commanders' preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns last week. The 22-year-old completed nine of 12 attempts for 77 yards and threw a 26-year-old touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson in Washington's 17-15 win.

"He's basically met the challenge that we've talked about, and that was seeing the growth and improvement from (offseason training activities) and minicamp," Rivera told reporters before Friday's practice. "And then (we) talked about going into training camp and continue to grow and show us what he's capable of.

"We've been very pleased with (his progression), to the point where I decided (Thursday) we were going to name him the starter going into the regular season."

After spending much of his rookie year as the Commanders' No. 3 quarterback, Howell got the nod for the team's 2022 season finale against the Dallas Cowboys and helped Washington to a 26-6 win. The North Carolina product completed 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while adding 35 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Howell will be the seventh different quarterback in the last seven seasons to start an opener for Washington, which is coming off an 8-8-1 season but finished last in the competitive NFC East division.

Brissett, who's started a total of 48 games with four teams over a seven-year career, gives Washington a capable alternative should Howell struggle in his first opportunity as a full-time starter.

The 30-year-old spent most of last season as the Browns' starting quarterback with Deshaun Watson serving an 11-game suspension. Brissett finished the campaign with 2,608 passing yards and 12 touchdowns and was intercepted just six times to go along with a 64 per cent completion percentage.