Joe Theismann suggests Redskins sit Dwayne Haskins for rookie season

Will the Washington Redskins start Dwayne Haskins as a rookie? Joe Theismann suggests he ride the bench for a season.

The Washington Redskins had Dwayne Haskins fall into their laps in the 2019 NFL Draft. Haskins was arguably the best quarterback in the class and Washington was able to snag him at number 15. That is what we call a massive draft day steal.

Last season, Haskins sure looked the part of an NFL starting quarterback, completing 70% of his passes for 4,831 yards, 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He was an absolute star in his only season at Ohio State and has the ability to transition quickly the NFL.

While Haskins is undoubtedly the future at the quarterback position for Washington, he may not necessarily be the quarterback of the present. The Redskins traded for veteran Case Keenum this offseason and still have Colt McCoy on the roster.

While Keenum is coming off of a down year with the Denver Broncos, he led the Minnesota Vikings to a deep playoff run in 2017. McCoy has never gotten a full-time opportunity in the NFL, but when he has been on the field, he has played pretty well.

Simply put, if the Redskins do not believe that Haskins is ready to start as a rookie, they have a couple of quality quarterbacks ready to take the reins.

Not that his opinion really matters, but former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann has a strong opinion on Haskins’ ability to start as a rookie. Theismann told radio hosts Nick Ashooh and Thom Loverro of 106.7 The Fan that starting Haskins on Week 1 of his rookie season would be a “formula for disaster.” “The young man’s played 13 (college) football games,” Theismann said. “What in that whole entire description makes any sense or convinces you that he should play?”

The Redskins have an extremely tough schedule early in the season and that is a major reason why Theismann would stay away from starting Haskins. Washington opens the season on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles, before coming home for back-to-back games against the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. Those are three of the best defenses in the entire NFL.

"“To put him out there early against those teams, it’s just a formula for disaster for the team, for Jay (Gruden), for the fans, everybody else,” Theismann continued. “I think the young man is our future and let’s protect the future instead of throwing it out there right now and saying, ‘OK, go get ’em.'”"

I understand what Theismann is saying here. Haskins is an extremely gifted player, but he has never seen anything like these NFL defenses. Starting out against defenses like the Eagles, Cowboys and Bears would only make it more difficult.

That being said, I think these concerns about young quarterbacks playing too early are completely overblown. If Haskins comes out and struggles, who cares?

He is a rookie quarterback. We know that it’s not easy. It is just up to him to learn from his potential mistakes. Will he really improve by sitting on the bench? Perhaps, but I struggle to see how he gets better from the sidelines instead of learning on the field.