The Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the media at the NFL Combine on Wednesday afternoon, and he delved into a litany of topics.
Among them, the most notable were regarding the team’s plan for Dwayne Haskins, what brough Rivera to Washington in the first place, and how they plan to fill out their roster going forward.
These are our five biggest takeaways from what Rivera had to say regarding:
Dwayne Haskins/QB Room
Since becoming the head coach of the Redskins, Rivera has been pretty married to the idea that Haskins, who was a rookie in 2019, would have to earn his role as the starting quarterback in 2020. He played in nine games during his first season and showed so much needed growth down the stretch, but that doesn’t mean that he will be handed the QB1 spot once again.
That means not anointing him as the starter until they feel he's earned it. But Haskins has been at the facility a lot this offseason. Reminder: He's only started a combined 21 games in college and the NFL. not a finished product; developing in all areas — on, off field.
— John Keim (@john_keim) February 26, 2020
It’s no surprise that Rivera is holding onto this idea, as he should. In his time with the team, Haskins hasn’t had the chance to show what he can really do, and he won’t get that chance until the practices start up this summer. However, Dwayne can get a head start on this by spending as much time as possible in the facilities and working to better craft his game, which Rivera noted he’s been doing already this offseason.
Outside of Haskins, the Redskins will continue to keep their options open when it comes to finding a signal-caller. Along with the veterans that will get a look, according to Rivera, some other draft prospects have been talked to as well.
Rivera says Redskins will bring in Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa for meetings. Has already spoken with Tua. Keeping all options open cause you never know.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) February 26, 2020
You can look at this as one of two ways; either the Redskins have legitimate aspirations to bring in a young signal-caller and supplant Haskins as the QB1, or they want the NFL world to be on edge when it comes to the draft, and signal that if a team wants to trade up for Tua Tagovailoa, they’ll have to come for the No. 2 spot, rather than No. 3.