Colt McCoy has long been the Redskins’ backup quarterback. Can he change that in 2019?
For the past five years going on six, the Redskins have had minimal questions about their backup quarterback spot. While the team has cycled through a few different options at the starter position including Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, and Alex Smith in recent seasons, one man has primarily served as the backup.
And that’s Colt McCoy.
McCoy came into the league in 2010 as a third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns. He was one of the options that they cycled through before finally finding Baker Mayfield to serve as their potential franchise quarterback. However, things didn’t go well there — he went 6-15 as a starter — and he wound up in San Francisco.
After barely logging any action in one season there, McCoy was staring down what might’ve been his final opportunity to succeed in the NFL. The Washington Redskins came calling, and McCoy signed there. And since then, he has been a solid cog in their organization.
McCoy has only gone 1-5 as a starter over five years with the ‘Skins, but he has done a lot in those outings to keep his team competitive. He has solid accuracy and though he has been somewhat of a forgotten man in the quarterback room, he is still involved in the competition for the 2019 season.
McCoy may be the underdog but when 2019 training camp comes around, he will have a chance to prove himself and try to finally reclaim a full-time starting job for the first time since 2011.
McCoy’s 2018 season
McCoy opened the 2018 season as the Redskins’ backup quarterback for a fifth consecutive season. However, last year, his role was a bit more important than in previous years.
With Alex Smith taking over at quarterback for Kirk Cousins, there was a chance that McCoy could have a chance to take over for Smith if he was ineffective. Early in the season, the Washington offense struggled to move the ball, and Smith was part of the problem. While he didn’t make mistakes, he rarely pushed the envelope. And for that reason, some were calling on McCoy to get a chance despite the team’s 6-2 start.
Well, McCoy did end up getting a chance. It just came via a way that nobody wanted to see. Smith suffered a brutal leg injury against the Houston Texans and after that, McCoy came on. He did well in that contest, finding Trey Quinn for a score and keeping the game close, but couldn’t pull out the victory.
After Smith’s season-ending injury, McCoy was named the starter as expected. On a short week, he led the charge in the Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys. His results were mixed. While he took more downfield chances than Smith, he also took a lot more risks. That resulted in three picks and a fumble against Dallas and while he did keep the team competitive, the mistakes were touch to overcome.
Just a week later against the Philadelphia Eagles, McCoy suffered a broken leg of his own. That ended his season. He ended up posting a 63 percent completion rate with 372 yards, three touchdowns, and three picks. Those numbers were middling but in such a small sample size (54 pass attempts) it’s hard to judge his overall effectiveness.
For yet another offseason, McCoy is entering training camp as a member of the Redskins quarterback room. But this year, he may have a better shot of playing a big role for the squad if he can prove himself during training camp.
What McCoy must show at training camp
McCoy doesn’t have to show a lot in terms of skill to prove himself at Redskins training camp. At this point in his career, he is a known commodity as one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks and spot starters. Now, the question is, can he stave off competition to become the starter at least at the beginning of the season?
McCoy’s biggest advantage in the quarterback battle is his experience with the Redskins system. McCoy has been in the nation’s capital for six years now (also read, the entirety of the Jay Gruden era). That gives him a leg up in knowing the offensive system, so if the team’s other quarterbacks struggle to pick that up, McCoy should have an advantage there.
Aside from that, McCoy just needs to show that he is steady, poised, and calm in the battle. If he can show well in training camp and perform as an accurate distributor with enough downfield playmaking ability in the preseason, he will at least give the coaches something to think about. And if he can cut down on the unnecessary risks that resulted in turnovers last year, that would be a positive for him as well.
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Of course, another element that will be important for McCoy is proving that he can stay healthy. He has been banged up at times during the course of his career, but the injury he suffered last year proved to be one of the most tricky ones he has dealt with so far.
McCoy has needed multiple surgeries to fix the fractured fibula he suffered last season. Fans have pointed to this as a problem compounded by the fact that the team thought McCoy could come back for a potential playoff run if the ‘Skins could stay afloat, but it’s unclear if that was the root cause of the problem.
Either way, McCoy will need to prove that his leg is healthy in order to be relied on as a backup. The good news is that Gruden expects him to be back on the field for training camp, so he should at least have a chance to prove himself. And if the leg looks good, he could factor into the quarterback race.
McCoy’s main competition
It’s pretty abundantly clear that the Redskins are going to have two players fighting for playing time with McCoy in Dwayne Haskins and Case Keenum. And right now, McCoy would enter the race as the third option among the three.
Haskins’ potential has been noted numerous times since he was the ‘Skins’ first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He had a prolific run at Ohio State, throwing a whopping 50 touchdowns in his first full season as the Buckeyes’ starter.
Haskins has the tools that teams look for in a franchise quarterback — arm talent, size, accuracy — but he still could work on his ball placement and downfield accuracy. That said, he has gotten quite a lot of praise from the Washington coaches and front office this offseason, and Gruden indicated that he will have a chance to earn the starting job. If he can show enough of what he did at Ohio State to make an impact in the NFL, he will have a chance to emerge as the starter.
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Meanwhile, Keenum is also factoring into the quarterback battle. The experienced veteran is not unlike McCoy in that they both come with a solid amount of starting experience in the league. However, Keenum’s has been more recent. And while his success has been mixed, he has a better recent track record than McCoy.
Keenum led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in 2018. With a good supporting cast, he can get the job done and he does have a good arm as well. Last year, he endured a bit of a rockier road in Denver and struggled with turnovers, which prompted him to be traded to Washington. But, if he can regain some of his Minnesota magic, the veteran will have a chance to emerge as the starter as well. And if he can’t stave off Haskins, he will at least have a chance to do battle with McCoy.
It’s going to be a fierce competition between these three players to earn the starting quarterback job. And even the backup battle could be fierce if an early favorite emerges for the primary role. This will be the most interesting position battle to watch in Redskins camp, especially given that the team could choose to keep just two quarterbacks.
2019 outlook for McCoy
The outlook for McCoy is hazy right now. It could be bright if he somehow proves to be the best of the team’s top three quarterbacks in camp. However, if he can’t, the outlook could be dark.
McCoy is still one of the better backup quarterbacks in the NFL, but there’s a chance that he won’t be on the Redskins this year. The team has significant financial resource sunk into the quarterback position between Smith’s contract and the combined money they’re paying Haskins, Keenum, and McCoy. If the team decides they want to lower the amount they’re paying their quarterback room, Keenum or McCoy could be a casualty of that.
If McCoy finds himself third in the quarterback battle and on the roster bubble, the Redskins may look to deal him. Every year after training camp starts, a quarterback-needy team will emerge and whether it’s just a team that needs a solid backup or potential competition, a market could emerge for McCoy. But again, that’s only if he truly finds himself on the roster bubble.
Given that the Redskins went through three quarterbacks last year, I think they may be more apt to keep McCoy around as insurance even if he is the third-stringer. Still, it will be interesting to see what direction they end up going in, especially if one of the veterans, Keenum or McCoy, has any trade value.
Still, the major takeaway is that McCoy will have a chance to prove himself in camp. From there, his future will become clearer.