Rivera: "It Would've Been Dwayne"

Ron Rivera said Dwayne Haskins would have been his starter in Saturday's preseason opener that was cancelled. There's more.

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera ‘The Kevin Sheehan Show’ on Team 980 on Friday morning and discussed a myriad of topics.

The most interesting topic was, of course, the quarterback position.

At one point, Sheehan directly asked Rivera if there was a preseason game next week — like the original schedule — who would be starting at quarterback?

With a slight hesitation, Rivera responded, “Oh, uh, it would’ve been Dwayne.”

Rivera went on to compliment second-year passer, Dwayne Haskins, about the work he has put in this offseason and how he has picked up the offense. However, he did say the following after saying he would be starting the first preseason game if there was one.

‘You know, and again, he is in a competition, you know the next week would’ve been Kyle (Allen), and we’d go from there,” Rivera said. “You know, again, we’re not giving anything to anybody. Everything is going to be earned, and that’s one of the things we’ve talked about. He (Haskins) knows that’s how I feel about it, and he is practicing like it. He is very competitive in practice, and he’s done an outstanding job. You know, and again, he’s got to show he deserves the opportunity.”

Rivera’s stance on the quarterback hasn’t changed since he took over. For a brief minute, it appeared he was going to say Haskins was his unquestioned starting quarterback. He then made a point to say Haskins will still have to earn the position.

It’s important to note that these last two weeks are the first time this staff has been able to watch both Haskins and Allen in person, while also seeing a presumably healthy Alex Smith. Most of the staff is already familiar with Allen from his time in Carolina.

Rivera has said all of the right things about Haskins since taking the Washington job in January. He loves the potential.

One aspect Rivera did notice in Haskins was his competitiveness. The head coach was effusive in his praise for the young’s quarterback’s level of competitiveness in practice. The competitive spirit is something Haskins has been praised for since being drafted.

Rivera noted the lack of preseason games would hurt. These young players, especially the quarterbacks, need those reps. While it is a disappointment, it is something the rest of the league is battling, too.

While the Washington Football Team still does not have an official starting quarterback, it appears more and more likely that Haskins will be the guy when the season begins next month.

Haskins being the starter was always the expected outcome, but Rivera is making sure he earns the nod, and that’s a welcome change for this organization. 

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Bryan Manning writes about the Washington Football Team for 'Washington Football' and contributes to "All Hokies" on SI.com. He has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and college basketball for almost 10 years for various outlets such as Bleacher Report, SB Nation, FanSided, USA Today SMG, and others. For his day job, Bryan works in engineering for a major communications company.