A day after an in-game quarterback change, Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden isn't ready to name a starter for Week 5 against the New England Patriots.
Gruden yanked Case Keenum in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants after the signal-caller was wholly inaccurate, completing six of 11 attempts for 37 yards with an interception and took one sack. First-round rookie Dwayne Haskins took over and looked overwhelmed for stretches, underthrew several passes and held the ball far too long in certain occasions, compiling a 9-of-17 passing day for 107 yards and three interceptions.
Heading into a game against the reigning Super Bowl champs, Gruden said his decision on who would start would depend on who "gives us the best chance to win."
"After evaluating the entire game, I think there's a lot of things we can correct for sure," Gruden said of his team falling to 0-4. "I think the quarterback position we missed some golden opportunities to change the course of events in that football game and failed to do so. That is not directly on the quarterbacks. I think everybody had their hand in it, including the coaches for sure. We all could've done something different to change that game considerably. Unfortunately, we didn't get it done really at any position. And, uh back to the drawing board. Gotta get back to work and get ready for New England."
In addition to Keenum and Haskins, veteran signal-caller Colt McCoy could get the call if he's finally healthy after a lingering leg injury. Gruden said his decision would depend on the health of his quarterbacks. If McCoy is ready, he could get the call. Also, Keenum was in a walking boot after the game, which Gruden termed as precautionary.
"Right now, I'm going to continue to evaluate Keenum's progress with his foot," Gruden said. "Obviously, Dwayne and Colt with his leg. When we come back Wednesday morning, we'll have a practice and we'll see where they're at."
If Haskins had played well in relief Sunday, Gruden's decision likely would have been easy. The rookie's turnover-filled afternoon could give the coach pause to toss Haskins back into the fire against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
"Well, I think Dwayne came in there at a time of the game where we still had a lot of hope," he said. "And I was hoping for a spark. I think his initial drive was good. He had a nice scramble for a big first down. Unfortunately, we couldn't punch it in there on that drive. And then the second half I think there was a lot of things that we had problems with. Dwayne had some issues obviously. The line could've been (better), could've been the receivers. Could've been the backs. We just weren't on the same page. We weren't in sync for whatever reason. And that's unfortunate. We do have a lot of new guys playing in this game. We have a new center, a new right guard. We have three or four new receivers. Tight end we just dressed, he didn't play a whole lot. Still, we should've been a lot better than we were."
"I think it will depend on the decision I make and how that person performs on Thursday and Friday," he said. "I can make a decision now. I might've already made a decision. But I'm going to let it play out because I need to see these guys perform. I don't need to make an announcement and then change my mind on Friday. I want to come out here and let these guys practice and then hopefully somebody will take the job and run."
