Report: Redskins Coach Jay Gruden Didn't Want To Draft QB Dwayne Haskins
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- In his lone year as the starting quarterback for the Ohio State, Dwayne Haskins had himself a ridiculous season for the Buckeyes, throwing for 50 touchdowns with just eight interceptions with a clean 70 percent completion rate. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound led the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record and a Rose Bowl win, and he appeared to be an ideal prospect for a team in need of a quarterback to add in the draft.
At least, he looked that way to a number of teams. His current team, the Washington Redskins, was apparently not one of them.
That's according to The Washington Post's Les Carpenter, who reported Friday that Redskins head coach Jay Gruden did not want the team to spend a first-round draft pick on Haskins last April.
A person with knowledge of Gruden's thinking has confirmed that the head coach did not want Haskins, and while Haskins has publicly downplayed any suggestion that he wasn't Gruden's choice, a person close to the rookie quarterback said that Haskins has sensed that to be the case.
Yeesh.
That might explain why Haskins' NFL debut was not what many would describe as having come with great preparation on behalf of his coaching staff. Instead of being told at the start of a week that he'd be playing in the upcoming game, Haskins was hastily thrown into last Sunday's game at the Giants in the middle of the second quarter, after bad quarterback Case Keenum was both very bad and somewhat injured.
Given no time to properly prepare, Haskins naturally struggled. He threw three interceptions, the first of which was returned for a touchdown, as the Redskins looked woefully unprepared to face a mediocre Giants team, eventually losing 24-3.
After that disastrous showing, Gruden wouldn't commit to any quarterback as his starter this week, showing a reluctance to get behind Haskins -- to the point where the coach appeared eager to throw Colt McCoy under center. That's the same Colt McCoy who unimpressively threw two touchdowns and three picks as Washington's starter for two games last year before breaking his leg in December. Instead of letting McCoy get that injury taken care of, the Redskins tried to get McCoy back on the field. In doing so, they set back the recovery process, to the point where it's not clear here in October if he's healthy enough to play NFL football.
(This might be a good time to note that seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams still refuses to show up for work in D.C., due in large part to his issues with the team's medical staff.)
In any event, the big twist in Carpenter's latest report is that after initially downplaying any truth to the rumors, Haskins has apparently figured out that his head coach may not be his biggest fan. The events of the past five days or so likely illuminated some aspects of that reality.
And so, with Gruden unwilling or unable to choose his starting quarterback for Sunday, the Redskins know that the Patriots will be coming to town for a real, live NFL game. The Patriots will enter Sunday as the NFL's No. 1 defense by a massive margin in several key categories.
Fewest Yards Allowed Per Game
1. New England Patriots, 243.0
2. Buffalo Bills, 280.8Fewest Points Allowed Per Game
1. New England Patriots, 6.8
2. Chicago Bears, 11.3Most Interceptions
1. New England Patriots, 10
T-2. BUF/NYG/SF, 5Most Sacks
T-1. New England Patriots, 18
T-1. Carolina Panthers, 18
3. Chicago Bears, 17
In that sense, it's unclear whether Gruden starting Haskins on Sunday would be a nice thing to do or a very mean thing to do. Nevertheless, it's clear that the Redskins have themselves a good bit of dysfunction, which should put their odds of beating the Patriots on Sunday somewhere very close to zero.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
