ASHBURN — Listen closely to Jay Gruden, and you can hear the contempt in his answers. All week, the Redskins coach has faced criticism for his handling of Dwayne Haskins.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick blasted Gruden, saying the rookie quarterback was being “set up for failure.” Stephen A. Smith suggested the coach had “quit on the Washington Redskins. Everyone in the building knows it.” Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi said Gruden was “trying to get fired.”
Football Twitter also mocked Gruden for saying he didn’t have a plan at quarterback when speaking to New England reporters on Wednesday.
Later that afternoon, Gruden took not-so-subtle jabs at his critics in the middle of longer answers.
“In my mind, I have a pretty good plan,” Gruden said, “contrary to belief.”
Then, during an answer about Haskins, he said this:
“No matter what we do with him, we’re going to be wrong, so it doesn’t really matter.”
With his team 0-4 preparing to face the defending-champion New England Patriots on Sunday, Gruden remained committed to not disclosing who he plans to play quarterback this weekend.
Case Keenum, who has started all four games but was benched against the Giants, missed practice Wednesday with a foot injury and is in a walking boot. Dwayne Haskins and Colt McCoy practiced, though Gruden did not reveal who took first-team reps. The Redskins did a lot of seven-on-seven work Wednesday and went through a walk-through.
Gruden said Keenum is still in a lot of pain. The quarterback first suffered the injury Week 3 in a Monday night loss to the Bears.
Gruden said he’ll have a better indication of who to start after Thursday’s practice.
“I feel good about all three quarterbacks and they all bring something different to the table,” Gruden said. “We’ve just got to settle on one and get him ready to go. When that guy gets his opportunity they have to take advantage of it and dominate the position and never look back.”
The Redskins are waiting to see if McCoy can be healthy enough to play. The 33-year-old returned to practice last week after he was sidelined for a month-and-a-half with a leg injury, aggravating the same leg he broke last December.
McCoy told reporters Wednesday his leg feels “pretty good,” but did not indicate if he’ll be ready to play Sunday.
“So far, I’ve felt good,” McCoy said. “For me, it’s just I want to go out there and play and not think about it and be able to make plays that I know I can make. The only way I can get to that point is to keep putting days together, keep practicing, keep studying and we’ll let Jay make that decision.”
Gruden dismissed the idea that not playing Haskins would hinder the 22-year-old’s development. When the Redskins drafted Haskins, the team preached that the quarterback would need time to develop after starting only one year at Ohio State. Gruden said Wednesday he has to do what’s best for Haskins and the team as a whole.
Haskins, who threw three interceptions in Sunday’s loss, said he tried to make the most of his initial chance.
“It’s my first year in the NFL and I have plenty of more to go,” Haskins said. “It’s just one stepping stone.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.