Redskins to make ‘group decision’ over Dwayne Haskins starting
The decision on when Dwayne Haskins will start for the Redskins will be a collaborative one, according to senior VP of player personnel Doug Williams.
Dwayne Haskins is unquestionably the future of the Washington Redskins franchise, but the organization will take a collaborative approach to deciding when he becomes their present.
Having fallen to the Redskins with the 15th overall pick in 2019 draft, Haskins is in a competition with not one but two veteran quarterbacks, with Case Keenum and Colt McCoy also in the mix to start this season.
Their experience may give them an edge over the rookie, and Redskins senior VP of player personnel Doug Williams revealed to NFL Network, per The Denver Post, that the call on when Haskins will ascend the starting role will be a “group decision”.
The argument for not rushing Haskins into the fray is a strong one. Washington has a daunting start to the 2019 season that would represent something of a trial by fire for him, with the Redskins facing the Eagles, Cowboys, Bears and Patriots all within the first five weeks of the season.
That is a slate of games in which the Redskins are unlikely to be favored with either Keenum or McCoy under center and, with so many teams now electing to let rookie quarterbacks grow through on-field experience rather than sitting them behind a veteran, there is a compelling case to be made for Haskins getting the seasoning he needs right off the bat against some of the NFL’s best and Washington living with the results.
Washington can also afford to have some confidence in Haskins thriving if he is indeed thrown in at the deep end. He flourished in his sole season as a starter at Ohio State despite having only attempted 57 passes for the Buckeyes prior to 2018 and got considerably better as the year progressed.
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Haskins also brings intrigue to a Redskins season that would otherwise be sorely lacking it. Neither Keenum nor McCoy are likely to put people in the FedEx Field seats they evidently struggled to fill in 2018 and, though the expectation level would not increase with Haskins under center, the reasons to watch the Redskins would. If Washington is to be a relevant franchise in 2019, the group decision should favor the rookie.