Washington names Dwayne Haskins starting quarterback

For months, Ron Rivera challenged Dwayne Haskins. Rivera wanted to see responsibility, leadership and growth — and the coach wasn’t going to hand over the reins to the Washington Football Team until his second-year quarterback proved he was up to the task. 

As time went by, Rivera found himself praising the 23-year-old for doing everything that was asked of him and living up to the lofty expectations of an NFL quarterback.

That’s why on Wednesday Rivera finally confirmed what had become increasingly clear: Haskins is the best quarterback on the roster and he will start in the Sept. 13 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rivera said he told Haskins and the team after practice.

“I made a commitment (almost) 10 years ago to another young quarterback and just told him: ‘Hey, you know what, I’m choosing you because I believe in you,’” Rivera said, referring to Cam Newton, his quarterback in Carolina. “That’s really how I feel about Dwayne. He’s lived up to his part of our conversation in January. Because of that, I’m living up to mine. He deserves the opportunity. He’s going to get my support.”

Rivera acknowledged his decision wasn’t a big surprise. After all, it was Haskins, not Kyle Allen or Alex Smith, who took all of the first-team reps in the training camp practices open to the media.

Rivera had said the three were in a competition, but on Wednesday, he backtracked on those remarks. Without the preseason, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rivera said he and his staff decided to give Haskins as many reps as he could. “It was going to be hard to do a really true competition in terms of the way I would’ve liked to see it unfold,” he said.

But Rivera saw growth in Haskins, who was uneven in seven starts last year as a rookie. He said Haskins began to “speed up” in camp, noting Haskins’ decision-making improved and he began anticipating defenses. 

Rivera also praised Haskins’ demeanor off the field, saying the 2019 first-rounder has done a better job of carrying himself like a starting quarterback.

On Twitter, Haskins reacted to the news by tweeting: “Always bet on yourself,” adding a handshake emoji. Days earlier, Haskins had said he felt comfortable in his role. He said he had a new sense of confidence.

“This new coaching staff, I just wanted to show them how much I love the game, the leader that I want to be and how I can be reliable in situations, make the right plays and potentially get some wins,” Haskins said. “I’m just trying to keep proving that and get into a game-like situation where I can showcase that. I’m looking forward to doing that and keep proving over and over again and be a guy in this area.”

Washington’s coaching staff feels Haskins has the ability to win games. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner said he knew of Haskins’ arm strength, but added he’s been impressed with how quick Haskins can get the ball out — even where there’s not a lot of space.

Turner, like Rivera, was pleased with how Haskins had gone about his offseason. He said Haskins “never blinked” when challenged.

“The way we go about our quarterback position — he’s bought in 100%,” Turner said. “The guy’s made a lot of good plays. He’s gotten better every day at practice. I told him today: ‘Now the real work starts. Now you’ve got to gear up.’”

Rivera, meanwhile, declined to name Haskins’ primary backup. With the deadline to trim the roster to 53 players on Saturday, it remains to be seen whether Smith, attempting a comeback from a life-threatening leg injury suffered in 2018, will make the roster.

But Rivera said he hopes Haskins has sustained success. Rivera, too, knows what that looks like, as Newton — when he was healthy — was the unquestioned starter over his nine years with the Panthers.

“Hopefully we can ride it as long as I rode it with Cam,” Rivera said. “You want to be able to have that guy and have that guy in place.”