Washington coach Ron Rivera spoke last week about quarterback Dwayne Haskins having a future in the organization despite being benched just four games into this coaching regime, but few executives around the NFL are buying it. The situation between the quarterback, who was drafted 15th overall just 16 months ago, and Rivera's staff is already fairly toxic, and multiple sources within the organization believe a trade by the end of the month is the most likely outcome.
Some rival executives have already begun looking at film of the former Ohio State star, anticipating him being moved in the coming weeks, with Kyle Allen -- who has deep ties to this coaching staff -- taking over as starter, veteran Alex Smith now the No. 2 quarterback and Haskins demoted all the way to third string.
Several sources close to Haskins have advised him that a trade would be far and away the best outcome possible, ideally to a solid franchise with an experienced veteran QB the 23-year-old could learn from. Haskins was not drafted by this regime, which was not high on him coming out of college. He is not a fit in their system, and his personality has rubbed them the wrong way since early on. Sources say with almost no practice time now and likely to be a healthy scratch many weeks, it's difficult for Haskins to envision a future for himself in Washington, where his development has never felt like a priority dating back to last season, when soon-to-be-fired coach Jay Gruden threw him into regular season games before many believed he was ready.
Numerous sources who have been in contact with Washington staff members told me that there was a strong perception that Haskins was not a good fit early on, and that he was only a starter because he was a favorite of owner Daniel Snyder, whose children went to school with Haskins.
"What they'll tell you in that building is that he is a project who was drafted by the owner and his son," said one league source who has talked to numerous Washington staff members. "That's the bottom line there. Allen is their guy. They think he fits their system. They didn't really want anything to do with Haskins from the beginning."
The Cardinals traded quarterback Josh Rosen for a second-round pick in 2019 just one year after selecting him 10th overall, and numerous Washington team sources believe a change of scenery is in order here as well, although you won't hear that sentiment expressed publicly. Getting solid trade compensation will be difficult given how the team has handled this situation, but keeping him around past the trade deadline and allowing this to fester is far from ideal.
