Redskins coach Ron Rivera said last month that Washington will enter training camp with the belief that Dwayne Haskins is the team’s starter, but added the 2019 first-rounder will compete with newly acquired Kyle Allen. In other words, Haskins will have to convince the coaching staff he’s the right man for the job.
DeAngelo Hall doesn’t think Haskins is up for the task.
The former Redskins cornerback told the NFL Network that “the jury is still out” on Haskins and believes Allen will end up being Washington’s starting quarterback come Week 1.
“With Kyle Allen breathing down your throat, you are not gonna be able to make many mistakes,” Hall said last week. “I love the kid, but I don’t know how (Haskins) wins the starting job, man. I really don’t.”
In a five-minute segment, Hall discussed with former quarterback David Carr and former fullback Michael Robinson how the Redskins’ acquisition of Allen impacts Haskins.
Hall doesn’t believe that Rivera is sold on Haskins, the Redskins’ No. 1 pick last year, noting the coach gave up a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft — the same price Washington got for cornerback Quinton Dunbar in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks — to reunite with Allen. The two know each other well as Allen spent two years with Rivera in Carolina.
Allen started 12 games last season and is well versed in Redskins offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s scheme. Hall pointed out the perception that Haskins wasn’t ready for his NFL debut, suggesting he slacked off from studying the playbook once it became clear he wasn’t going to play over then-starter Case Keenum. Hall said he thinks Rivera doesn’t trust Haskins at the moment.
“I don’t think Dwayne Haskins is gonna respond,” Hall said. “A lot of young kids don’t respond to that style of coaching. Ron Rivera’s an old-school mentality type of coach, he wants competition. These young guys they want things given to them.”
That might not be a fair portrayal of Haskins, given the quarterback competed at Ohio State and didn’t initially win the starting job. Haskins went two years sitting behind JT Barrett and elected not to transfer after losing the job in 2017. The next year, he beat out Joe Burrow to become the Buckeyes’ starter and finished the season with a school-record 50 touchdowns.
With Washington, Haskins also said all the right things about having to compete for playing time with Keenum and veteran Colt McCoy. After losing the starting job, Haskins and the Redskins had stressed patience and they continued doing so until the quarterback became the full-time starter in November.
Upon his arrival, Rivera said he would not anoint Haskins as the starter — or anyone for that matter. The last few months have been something of a test for Haskins, as the Redskins want to see the play-caller go about handling his duties the right way. That included being a steady presence at the team’s facility before it shut down due to the coronavirus.
“I still feel like he should be given the opportunity,” Hall said. “I thought a coach with a new contract, he would go in — you know this is the owner’s guy. Commit to him. Coach him up. Coach him up! That’s what coaches are supposed to do.
“You don’t give up on a kid who threw 50 touchdowns in college.”
Haskins will get an opportunity, but he’ll have to beat out Allen to remain the starter. That’s how Rivera wants to run things — even if there’s a perception it doesn’t bold well for Haskins’ long-term future with the coach.
“Having honestly been in that situation myself, I think the best thing for Dwayne Haskins is probably to get traded,” Carr said. “ … The best thing for him is to go somewhere where people still value him.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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