Getty Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Washington Redskins are not going to leave the NFL offseason without changes to their QB depth chart.
“Quarterback is a position you’ve got to have competition in,” new coach Ron Rivera said during the NFL Scouting Combine last month. “Very competitive competition.”
The team is likely to bring in a veteran QB. Case Keenum, who was the opening day starter in Washington, departed for the Browns in free agency, leaving a void behind Haskins.
Could Jameis Winston be That Target?
ESPN’s Booger McFarland hears that the QB will be in play in Washington among other places.
Jameis will be in play in Pittsburgh , Jacksonville, Cincinnati , and Washington as a back up
Winston seemed as if he had plenty of options heading into free agency. Yet, with places such as Chicago and Carolina, in addition to his incumbent Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finding new veteran signal-callers, the former No. 1 pick may have to settle for a plush back-up gig.
Sitting behind Ben Roethlisberger akin to how Teddy Bridgewater went to New Orleans could be a prudent move. Jacksonville and Cincinnati have different scenarios, each with varying paths to the starting gig. The Jaguars handed over their starting gig to former seventh-rounder Gardner Minshew and the Bengals are expected to draft Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick and could theoretically have Winston start the season to ease Burrow into the league but that simply isn’t common practice anymore in today’s NFL.
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Enter the Redskins. Haskins’ grip on the role isn’t much tighter than his spiral. However, John Keim of ESPN.com hears that there is “no chance” of the Redskins nabbing Winstons as a veteran QB to push Haskins.
FWIW: there is no chance of the Redskins acquiring Jameis Winston. Spoke to a source earlier this morning.
Winston has had off the field issues and this could certainly play a role. It’s also possible that Winston is simply better and has more upside than Haskins but by not enough to make Washington give up on Haskins’ potential growth. Teams know what Winston is. He’s talented but he’s not a tier-1 franchise QB. He would likely beat out Haskins in a true open competition but adding Winston means a franchise will still likely be on the lookout for a long-term answer.
Is Dwayne Haskins the Answer?
Some expected Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins to be selected before the No. 15 overall pick in the 2019 draft, so the pick was seen as a low-risk win by the Redskins. However, Haskins’ first season in Washington wasn’t anything special.
The raw stats can tell you that the season was meh. Seven touchdowns with seven interceptions; 56.8 completion percentage; 6.7 Yards/attempt.
Even the most optimistic forecast couldn’t look at his season and see a ceiling any higher than this generation’s Jay Cutler.
But in this case, Washington has to objectively look at what they have and see that they do not have a franchise quarterback.
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