Now I’m not saying it’s a perfect comparison, or that their play styles are at all similar, or that Howell will turn out the same way, or anything like that. It’s just about how much uncertainty there is in pro football, especially with young players.

Remember halfway through 2008, Campbell’s third season, when the Skins were 6-2, his passer rating was over 100, and he was even getting MVP talk? It sure seemed like he had made the leap.

Well, the team ended 8-8, went 4-12 the next year, and Campbell was gone.

Like Campbell midway through 2008, Howell is already pretty clearly next year’s starter. If you view “franchise QB” as a year-to-year designation, sure, he’s a franchise QB right now. If you view its meaning more as “this player will be the QB here for at least a decade” well it is too soon to say–but it’s almost always too soon to say.

Another example from outside the franchise would be Trevor Lawrence, who had a great sophomore campaign, made the NFL Top 100, and even had first overall pedigree. You see how that’s going this year. (But he could turn it right back around next year!)

I think we can enjoy the Howell ride and get excited without making the type of declarations that this sub has been prone to. At the very least it will help us stayed grounded when he does have another bad game (which will happen, the question is when and how many).