New Cowboys quarterback Sam Howell
Getty
New Cowboys quarterback Sam Howell
It’s a special breed of NFL player that can develop into a respected backup quarterback. The job requires a player to be ready at a moment’s notice, sometimes for just a series sometimes for a month. And you’re always going to be expendable–it’s a have arm, will travel situation. For new Dallas Cowboys addition Sam Howell, the hope is still to get another crack at starting in the league somewhere but he is planning to stick in North Texas for a while.
Howell was signed last week and figures to give some competition to Joe Milton for the backup job with the Cowboys. There’s a chance he could win the job–Howell was a starter for a season in Washington, a mostly disastrous 2023 campaign in which he threw for 3,946 yards but went 4-13 and threw a league-high 21 interceptions, with a league-high 63 sacks.
Still, it’s more experience than Milton has. And Howell says he wants to stick around. “Shoot,” he said during a meeting with Cowboys media on Tuesday, “I’d love to have an opportunity to be here as long as they want me here.”
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, Brian Schottenheimer Big Draws
Howell was cut loose by the Commanders after they landed Jayden Daniels, and certainly, there’s no shame in losing the job to him. But he was attracted to the Cowboys as a place where he can reset his career and possibly learn from both coach Brian Schottenheimer and starter Dak Prescott.
“I know some guys that have been around him a lot and just everyone that knows him talks so highly about him,” Sam Howell said. “I just think in my short conversations with him, he really knows the quarterback position well, and I love how he has Dak playing right now.”
Prescott was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL as he came back from a nasty hamstring injury in 2024. He threw for 4,552 yards in 2025, with 30 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions. Prescott led the league with 404 completions last season.
Sam Howell Hoping to Take Path Back to Starting Job
Howell has certainly taken notice, as all young backups have–he is just 25 years old, a fifth-rounder from the 2022 draft–that aligning oneself as a backup with the right quarterback teacher can go a long way toward giving a QB another crack at a starting role. We’ve seen it repeatedly in recent years, with players like Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones and Malik Willis.
Howell is hoping he will get that same sort of shine back on his image after spending time with the Cowboys and Schottenheimer.
“I think there is a lot of good football ahead of me,” Howell said. “I think the opportunity to develop under (Schottenheimer) is obviously something that was very enticing to me, which ultimately kind of led to me wanting to come here.”
As for beating out Milton, that competition is still a long way from even beginning.
Said Howell: “I’m just excited to be there. Try to make the (QB) room better. We’ll all try to make each other better every single day. That’s kind of the mentality and mindset I have coming in. At the end of the day, we’re there to support Dak and try to help Dak and get better along the way.”