New head coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine the Redskins are working through every scenario.
"We are looking at everything," Rivera said. "Everything is possible. Everything is an option. Everything we do, we're going to decide as a group, and we'll go from there."
"Everything" includes potentially selecting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday night. Washington is meeting with both Tagovailoa and LSU's Joe Burrow this week, measures that could be more than the Redskins just doing their due diligence.
"It's not the craziest thing we've ever heard. The Cardinals literally did the same thing last year," Rapoport said of Washington potentially eyeing Tua. "They would like (Dwayne Haskins) to be the franchise quarterback but Tua is such a good prospect, such a promising prospect, if they believe he is head-and-shoulders above Haskins, if they believe he is the franchise guy, at least they will have to consider it, and that includes evaluating everything about him, about Joe Burrow and potentially some of the other top quarterbacks.
"One thing that might also help: If they do end up entertaining trade offers for that No. 2 pick, it'd be nice to know how good the quarterback prospects are. That's what's going to go on here in the process as well."
Most have Ohio State's Chase Young penciled into the No. 2 slot. The pass rusher is viewed by many scouts as the top prospect entering the draft. The Redskins must weigh the impact a player like Young could make versus any potential trade offers they might receive.
Rivera kept things close to the vest, noting the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1 control the draft.
"Before we do anything with the No. 2 pick, we've got to see what happens with the No. 1 pick," Rivera said. "Once that pick goes on, then we'll go from there. Again, as I said, everything is an option. As far as talking to (VP of player personnel) Kyle (Smith), we've talked a couple times already what situations could potentially be. But the truth is, we have to see what happens in front of us."
If the Bengals take Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow with the top pick, as many presume, it would leave the Redskins with the option of taking Young, trading the second pick to a team wanting to leap up the draft board to select one of the other QBs or, as Rapoport indicated, taking Tagovailoa and moving on from Haskins.
Rivera added that he saw a lot of progress with Haskins as a rookie, particularly noting his play in the win over Detroit as a stepping stone for 2020.
As with all organizations that undergo massive front office and coaching changes, however, everything is on the table as the offseason gets ramped up.
Other notes from Rivera's combine press conference:
On Redskins picking up Adrian Peterson's 2020 option:
"I think Adrian most certainly will be a first-ballot (Hall of Famer). I really do. For everything he's done, and the career he's had. I'm excited to have him on the football team. We picked up his option for a reason. We believe guys like that have a value beyond playing. I mean, he's going to play some quality football for us, but who he is as a person is going to resonate with our younger players. They're going to see this is how you do it, and if you do it this way, you have a chance to have the type of career he has."
On the type of defensive front Washington will employ:
"We are changing our defensive philosophy. We are a 4-3 front, which basically, what we've told guys who have asked about it that we want our D-line to play vertical. We want to attack vertically. We want to play the run on our way to the quarterback. That's going to be our attitude and our philosophy with our front."
On the decision to release veteran corner Josh Norman:
"I think the biggest thing more than anything else is going to be the style, the way we play, we're going to try to replace him with guys we have on the roster currently. We feel very good about some of these guys. We think these guys have the same type of skill set -- the young guys who have to be trained. We've got a bunch of fourth-year guys that just need to play football, and we need to get those guys on the field and develop them. Josh was a tremendous talent when he came to Washington. He was at the time the highest-paid (corner). In Carolina, he earned that. So I was very happy for him. But looking where we are, I just feel now is an opportunity to play a lot of young players."
On what he's seen from quarterback Dwayne Haskins' rookie season:
"One of the things I really go back to is the way he played the Detroit game. One thing everyone forgets is those early games before he became the starter, I didn't put a lot of stock into because those game plans weren't devised for him. But when you start looking at the games that they devised for him, then you try to see what they were trying to do with him and you want him. I've had a chance to go back and do that. I see some progress. From the time he started the Detroit game, to the very last game he played -- I know he didn't play in the last one -- but until he got hurt. You look at those things and say, man, there is some growth there. There is some potential for the young man to be the type of player that he can be. But the thing that excited me about the Detroit game was the fourth quarter. The two drives when they had to score. He was very calm. He was very calculated. He showed his poise. He showed his leadership and put them in a position to win a football game. And that's what you want from your quarterback, a guy that gives you a chance to win, a guy that can help you win because of him and you can win with him. That's what's exciting.
"He's got that type of potential, but he's got to grow into it. Nothing will be given. He's not anointed, that's for doggone sure. I expect him to come in and compete and work, and we'll see what happens."
