Dwayne Haskins might turn out to be a great quarterback. He’s not yet.
For the second time this season, Haskins took over for an injured Case Keenum. For the second time this season, the 15th overall choice showed he has a long way to go before he’s ready to start.
Haskins, 22, went 3-for-5 for 33 yards and an interception in the loss to the Vikings. He led one scoring drive, with Washington getting a field goal on a six-play, 50-yard drive.
“I think he needs a little bit more work,” Washington coach Bill Callahan said Friday, via Matt Weyrich of NBCSportsWashington.com. “I think time is invaluable where he can sit back and learn from quarterbacks like Case and Colt [McCoy] as well as players like Alex [Smith], who is around the building. It is a fine line. We are trying to win games still.”
Haskins is 12-for-22 for 140 yards and four interceptions in two appearances. He needs more of everything, especially time and reps.
Haskins didn’t start right away at Ohio State. He had only 171 plays of experience on offense before 2018 when he set 28 Ohio State records and seven Big Ten records as he passed for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns.
That’s why, if Keenum is healthy, the veteran quarterback will continue to start.
“It’s very similar to quarterbacks like [Aaron] Rodgers, Steve Young, you know really good quarterbacks in our league that have sat back not only for one season but several and learned and grew and got the experience and the knowledge to go out and execute at a high level,” Callahan said. “When you’re thrust into a situation as a young rookie, boy, it’s challenging.
“I mentioned this last night, you could look at Troy Aikman when he was first drafted by Dallas. You can look at Peyton Manning when he came out in Indianapolis. They struggled. They really struggled. You’re going to have some growing pains with young quarterbacks and we get that.”