Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins progressing, drawing praise from coaches
By Ian Cummings
On Thursday, while Case Keenum was nursing an injury, rookie QB Dwayne Haskins took all the first-team reps for the Redskins at quarterback.
Case Keenum was back in full capacity the next day, but in his time under center, Dwayne Haskins showed observable growth, and Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell vocally expressed his excitement for Haskins’ development, as the rookie waits for his chance to rectify his Giants performance. Haskins’ longtime teammate, Terry McLaurin, also told reporters that Haskins is getting more comfortable, and making more plays in practice.
Keenum is likely to start against the San Francisco 49ers, as his day off was merely precautionary, to rest a nursing shoulder. But if Haskins continues progressing off the field as recent reports have suggested, he could see his starting debut somewhere down the line in 2019.
On Thursday, after Haskins took all the first-team reps in practice, O’Connell took to the podium to express his confidence in the first-year player. Per D.C. sports reporter Craig Hoffman, O’Connell said he’s seen a change from Haskins now that Haskins has established himself as the No. 2 quarterback ahead of Colt McCoy. O’Connell said that while Haskins is young, he’s starting to understand the urgency of the NFL, and in that sense, he is impressing coaches.
Despite his situational deficiencies and his status as a rookie with minimal experience, Haskins has already been the subject of premature criticism from onlookers. On Thursday, he responded to allegations that he couldn’t read NFL defenses, among other things. Haskins isn’t blind to the criticism, but he’s comfortable with controlling only what he can control.
“That’s really a joke, because I pride myself on reading defenses and knowing protections, and stuff like that,” Haskins said when prompted by ESPN’s John Keim. “I can’t really pay any mind to that. I just gotta do what I gotta do.”
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Haskins won’t get a chance to change perceptions en masse until he eventually makes his way into the starting role. But until that happens, it appears as though he’s starting to find a rhythm learning on the bench and taking advantage of the opportunities that come around. Once he hits the field and can further adjust to the pace of the NFL, his development can truly begin to take hold.