The New York Giants turned to their rookie quarterback, Daniel Jones, last week with great results. The Washington Redskins will stick with their journeyman when they take on Big Blue Sunday.
Redskins coach Jay Gruden will stick with Case Keenum instead of handing the reins to Dwayne Haskins with an 0-3 record. Colt McCoy -- who returned to practice this week -- could also be given a shot before the rookie.
The No. 15 overall pick isn't worried that he hasn't seen the field in the first month.
"No, I'm happy for those guys," Haskins said, via ESPN. "It's easy to look at the rookie class and be like, 'Rookies are playing, why am I not playing?' I want to be like Tom Brady and Drew Brees and that's something that doesn't happen overnight. Tom didn't play at first; Aaron Rodgers didn't play at first."
The days of QBs like Rodgers sitting are mostly out the window. Especially on winless teams, rookies will be thrown in the fire.
Haskins knows his time is coming.
"I know I can play well and play at a high level," he said. "But I want to keep getting better. I feel I can be really, really good. I want to be a great quarterback, one of those guys you talk about for years to come. That's not going to happen overnight.
"Everyone has a different path and journey. That's good for [the other rookies] and that's the situation they're in and I'm not."
The signal-caller started just 14 games at Ohio State. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo explained this week that part of the reason Gruden isn't ready to move to Haskins is that the rookie is still getting his feet wet with the full playbook. If Haskins plays now, the Redskins would be working on a limited offensive playbook.
The time will eventually come, however, for Haskins to get his shot.
"I'm trying to maximize the reps because I don't get a lot," Haskins said, "and trying to figure out how to make the plays work so I can get better and make it more realistic for myself. ... Scout team is tough because it's not your plays. The defense already has an idea of what you're going to do, so they're jumping stuff. You're trying to be as accurate as possible. You don't know what the reads are, so you're going by what you think will be open and you try to make the best of it."
A big-armed signal-caller who has shown good mid-level accuracy, Haskins displayed both his soaring potential and rookie struggles during the preseason. The QB would vacillate between outrageous throw to boneheaded decisions almost by the play. Those kinds of ups and downs get NFL teams beat on the regular.
If the Redskins aren't going to play Haskins this week against a putrid Giants defense, Gruden certainly isn't going to toss the rookie into the fire in Week 5 against the New England Patriots. Perhaps Week 6 against the tanking Miami Dolphins might be the spot Gruden finally gives Haskins a shot.
"There's a difference between being patient and not working," Haskins said. "I'm hungry. I want to play. As a competitor that's how you want to operate. But you want to be in the best position to succeed and that's what I'm waiting for. ... I feel good, I feel I can help the team win. I'm ready in case anything happens."
