The Washington Commanders overhauled their quarterback room this offseason by trading last year’s starter, Sam Howell, to the Seattle Seahawks, signing Marcus Mariota, and finally drafting their next franchise QB by selecting LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The overhaul wasn’t done there, as Washington continued to add depth in the undrafted free agent market and gave one big-name QB one of the biggest contracts ever handed out to a UDFA.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that the Commanders gave former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman one of the biggest guarantees among undrafted free agents in the form of a $20,000 signing bonus and a $225,000 base salary guarantee, which indicates he’ll be an actual part of the team’s plans in 2024.
The #Commanders gave former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman one of the biggest guarantees among undrafted free agents: a $20,000 signing bonus and $225,000 base salary guarantee. A sign Hartman is in Washington’s plans for 2024. pic.twitter.com/8emLatqGOV
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2024
Hartman played six seasons in college, finishing up at Notre Dame after five years with Wake Forest and leading the Fighting Irish to a 10-3 record.
He threw for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions last season after throwing 77 touchdowns over the previous two seasons at Wake Forest.
The contract Hartman got is interesting, and it’ll be interesting to see what the Commanders’ plans are for him.
Daniels is obviously the main focus in the QB room, but behind him, the team has Mariota and Jeff Driskel as backups, while Jake Fromm is also on the roster.
None of those three are likely long-term solutions as backups and keep in mind that this is the same franchise that drafted Kirk Cousins the same year they drafted Robert Griffin III second overall.
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