Any which way you wish to look at it, Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins had a tough 2019. It started with him being drafted by a team whose coaching staff reportedly didn’t want him, then it also saw him working to fight his way past two veteran quarterbacks into the QB1 spot on the depth chart, all while dealing with a roster that was full of holes, and a leadership group that was inadequate to lead a young player.
Along the way, coaches were fired, schemes were changed, and a lot of losing took place. As we go forward, the organization seems to be a bit more stable than it was when Dwayne first arrived, but there are still some bumpy roads ahead. While he may be better equipped to handle those challenges now, some details about his struggles as a rookie are coming to light; specifically the details of disarray in Washington that was so great that it was nearly impossible for any QB to succeed, let alone a rookie.
On Tuesday, an episode of The Ringer’s ‘Ryen Russillo Show’ podcast was released, featuring an in-depth interview with Quincy Avery, Haskins’ quarterbacks coach. In the interview, Avery was asked about Haskins and his development going forward, as well as just how difficult of a rookie year he had. His answer shone some light on the real turmoil that was hoisted on the rookie’s shoulders in his first season in the NFL.
“Dwayne went through so much more than someone should have to have put on their shoulders as a rookie quarterback. You go in there and the head coach makes it known that he doesn’t like you and makes it as hard as possible for you to be the guy, and then you’ve got… It’s not like a situation where you’ve got a quarterback who just wants to help him be the guy. He didn’t go to the Washington organization and have Case [Keenum] and all of those guys say ‘Hey let’s help make you the starting quarterback.’ He was kind of on his own. It was him and the OC, Kevin O’Connell, were trying to figure it out, all while the head coach says a lot of nasty stuff about you, not only in the media, but also to the team. And [Dwayne] was trying to learn how to be a starting quarterback. The responsibility level is so much more different than anything I think people can imagine, and you’re doing that at 21 years old, leading a billion dollar franchise. It’s a lot to put on your shoulders. And I’m so excited to see the way he’s bounced back this offseason.”
It was well-known that former Washington head coach Jay Gruden — who was fired midway through the 2019 season — had little desire to groom a rookie quarterback when his job status relied on a winning season. However, hearing about the difficulty that Haskins had navigating his rookie season all while his coach was allegedly talking negatively about him is tough. Let’s just be thankful that Ron Rivera is now in place, and he seems to have a good standing relationship with Haskins and the rest of the team.
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