Kyle Allen serving as offense whisperer as Dwayne Haskins takes reins

ASHBURN — Trading for quarterback Kyle Allen earlier in the offseason was seen, at the time, as a big deal for the Washington Football Team. Reuniting coach Ron Rivera with last season’s starting signal-caller in Carolina meant Dwayne Haskins would likely be sent to the sidelines, former Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall said.

NFL insider Peter King speculated that because of the coronavirus pandemic, it would become “pretty likely” that Allen would emerge as the starter due to his familiarity with Rivera amid a shortened training camp.

Rivera himself fanned the flames, saying Allen would compete for the job and “understands that system.”

Fast forward to Monday, Washington’s sixth padded-practice — and Allen has yet to take a snap with the starters.

What gives?

“This is how it goes,” Rivera said. “At the end of the day, Kyle has had a lot of reps in this (system). We’ve got to give Dwayne as many reps as we can.”

Rivera noted there were still two-and-a-half more weeks of training camp, leaving open the possibility things could change. But at this point, it would be a major surprise if Allen does supplant Haskins, who has looked increasingly sharp as camp progresses.

After a shaky start, Haskins has settled in and on Monday, he perfectly threaded a deep pass to a covered Terry McLaurin for a long touchdown.

Rivera said Haskins is starting to blend his decision making with accuracy.

“Very much so,” he said.

That leaves Allen with the backups.

Allen is familiar with the offense. But he’s still developing on-field chemistry with his teammates.

“For me, it’s just been trying to get the body language down of the receivers, the backs, communication of the (offensive) line,” Allen said. “It’s everything sped up. It’s everything faster. That’s been a big challenge for me and it’s been fun to get to know a new group of guys.”

Allen, though, is used to being a backup — and his acceptance of that role is partially what appealed to Washington when it gave up a fifth-round pick for him. While the 24-year-old started 12 games for the Panthers last season, he spent most of 2018 behind Cam Newton and began 2019 in the same role, only forced into action once Newton suffered a season-ending foot injury.

Throughout camp, Allen, like Haskins, has looked good at times and struggled at others. Allen has shown a willingness to scramble out of the pocket when it collapses, trying to pick up additional yards. His accuracy also appears to be sharp, hitting Cam Sims and Trey Quinn often on short throws and screens.

But Allen has also demonstrated some of the problems that plagued him in 2019.

Last year, Allen had just 17 touchdowns to 16 interceptions — a TD:INT ratio that was particularly discouraging given Allen opened the year with seven touchdowns and no interceptions through his first four starts.

In camp, Allen has been picked off multiple times — including twice on Saturday when Greg Stroman and Deshazor Everett came up with the turnovers.

“Sometimes he’ll bypass the easy to try to make the sensational, and that’s one thing he has to understand,” Rivera said. “Just take what they’re giving him. Sometimes when he does go for the sensational, he makes a good play. But let’s take the sure thing and methodically move the ball.”

Though he spent two years with Carolina, Allen said Washington’s playbook is slightly different from what Rivera ran with the Panthers.

Before, Norv Turner was the offensive mind behind Carolina’s playbook. In Washington, it’s Scott Turner, Norv Turner’s son.

A lot of the plays and concepts are the same, but Allen said Washington’s offensive coordinator has added his own wrinkles. Allen said Turner’s playbook takes into account that this team is made of the personnel on Washington’s roster, not the Panthers roster.

You have to account for those changes, Allen said, and he’s working every day to master them.

But Allen has helped to get others caught up to speed. He said the quarterback room has become a “collaborative effort,” especially since the pandemic canceled in-person OTAs.

“It’s three years in and I’m comfortable (in the offense,)” Allen said. “I’m able to communicate to a lot of players on the field. That’s what I feel like I’ve been trying to do the most: Get everyone on the same page and everyone on the same line so when we go out there on Sunday in a couple weeks, we’re all ready to go.”