Dwayne Haskins is ‘All For Competition’ To Be The Redskins Starting Quarterback – Redskins.com

Haskins was named the full-time starter in Week 9 of his rookie season and went 2-5 before spraining his ankle against the New York Giants in Week 16, forcing him to miss the season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. His play was sporadic for much of the 2019 season, including two games in which he played in relief for Case Keenum, but it looked like Haskins was starting come into his own before his injury. In his final six quarters, Haskins completed 72% of his passes for 394 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Still, Rivera wants to see more out the second-year quarterback he inherited from the previous coaching staff. He wants Haskins to "step up and be a leader," which is expected of all great quarterbacks regardless of their experience. The work starts in the offseason, and Rivera wants to see Haskins put in the work now to earn a starting role in September.

"You've got to step up, you've got to be where you need to be, you've got to do things you're supposed to do," Rivera said. "That's all going to start with your offseason, how you prepare yourself, how do you get yourself ready?"

Haskins has already shown his teammates that he wants to be their leader. Many of them were impressed with how he handled himself in his first-career start against the Buffalo Bills and the way he maintained constant communication with every position group to see how he could help them.

"They guy's only 22 years old," Paul Richardson said after the game. "I liked that. You can tell he has really good leadership qualities. He's just finding his voice."

Adrian Peterson said he saw confidence in Haskins' eyes even though his performance in Buffalo wasn't all perfect. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 144 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

However, it isn't the players Haskins needs to impress; it's Rivera, offensive coordinator Scott Turner and the rest of the new coaching staff -- many of whom were coaching with the Panthers when he was coming out of Ohio State. They liked Haskins in their pre-draft interviews with him, but they still want to see him prove he is ready to be the quarterback of the future.

Doug Williams, who was recently promoted to senior vice president of player development, said Haskins was "ascending" before he suffered the injury. He still has a long way to go, Williams added, while also trying to prove something to the new coaches that are "not married to him."

"He has to look at it from that standpoint," Williams said. "It's about what he does, and he has all the ability to do what any coach wants him to do."