Jay Gruden explained why a 'very raw' Dwayne Haskins wasn't ready to start
Over the first 37 days of the latest dysfunctional Redskins season, Washington has started three different quarterbacks, lost five of six games, and parted ways with head coach Jay Gruden during his sixth season with the organization.
The Redskins seemed to find their quarterback of the future in the 2019 NFL Draft, taking Ohio State superstar Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick, but not everyone in the Redskins’ building was on board with the selection, according to reports. In September, Joel Klatt reported that while the front office was behind Haskins and wanted him to start over Case Keenum, the coaching staff was against the change. Haskins called the report “fake news” on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Gruden addressed the Redskins’ current QB situation in an appearance on ESPN, and made it clear that he doesn’t believe Haskins is ready to play. Gruden said he feels Haskins has a chance to be a great player, but also confirmed reports that there were people within the organization who preferred other QBs in the Draft (while leaving out whether he was one of those people).
Haskins eventually took the field for the first time this season during a loss to the Giants and quickly threw three interceptions. Washington turned to Colt McCoy in Week 5 against the Patriots, but reinstated Keenum as the starter for Week 6. According to Gruden, Haskins is going to need plenty of time to develop before he can take over.
“With Case Keenum coming here for one year and Colt McCoy coming back from a broken leg, we didn’t know how long Colt would be out. So the fact of the matter is we had to get a quarterback in the draft somewhere, some time, and Dwayne is a great prospect. So we chose to take him as an organization.
Unfortunately, you know – people are excited, when you take a guy at 15, you want to see him play right away. But it was our professional opinion that he wasn’t quite ready to step in and play in the first five games of the season, in my opinion. It will take some time for him. He only played 13 or 14 games as a college player. I think he’s very raw, but he’s very talented, and it will take some time with him. Just wasn’t ready when I was there, and maybe he’ll get ready in the coming weeks.
It was the direction we decided to go. There was some other quarterbacks that some people liked in that building later on in the draft, but we chose Dwayne and tried to make the most of it. He’s still got a chance to be a great player, without a doubt.”