Rivera: Confidence in Haskins meant D.C. never considered Tua

Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera has faith in Dwayne Haskins. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ron Rivera: Washington never considered drafting Tua due to confidence in Dwayne Haskins

By Blake Harper | Last updated 4/30/20

The Washington Redskins got arguably the most talented player in the draft when they took Chase Young with the second pick of last weekend's draft. But while the pick didn't come as a surprise to most, some still wondered if the team would take a quarterback.

However, in an interview with Junks Radio, Washington coach Ron Rivera said that he never seriously considered drafting Tua Tagovailoa or any other quarterback because he felt confident in what he saw out of Dwayne Haskins.

“I feel good enough about him that I’m willing to take that chance, that opportunity,” Rivera said.

This is the strongest endorsement Rivera has made in support of Haskins, who was drafted in the first round of last year's draft. Haskins is undoubtedly a work in progress at this point, as he completed less than 60% of his passes last year while only winning two of his seven starts for the team.

Some analysts felt that Rivera would want to take the team in a new direction after taking over coaching duties but it seems that Rivera is comfortable heading into the season with Haskins under center.

Ron Rivera was awesome on @JunksRadio. Says he felt good enough about Dwayne Haskins at QB that taking Tua in the Draft wasn't really a consideration. “I feel good enough about him that I’m willing to take that chance, that opportunity.”
— Caroline Brandt (@caroline__cb) April 30, 2020

For now, it appears that the job of starting quarterback is Haskins to lose but none of this means that Washington won't be adding any other quarterbacks to the mix. After all, the team could certainly use some depth at quarterback, with Alex Smith still trying to come back from a brutal injury that nearly cost him his leg and Kyle Allen struggling last season as Carolina's starter.

If Washington does decide to go after a free agent to ignite a quarterback competition, they'll have plenty of starter-caliber options to choose from on the free-agent market, including recently released Andy Dalton. One quarterback who Washington will most likely not be pursuing is Cam Newton, who played under Rivera in Carolina. It seemed like a reunion was possible but Rivera downplayed any interest in adding Newton to Washington's roster last month.

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