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Ron Rivera opened up his presser by naming Dwayne Haskins Jr. the starting QB for the Washington Football Team. If you have been following training camp, and the entire offseason, you know this was just a formality, and the question was when, not if it was going to happen. Rivera said Haskins has lived up to everything they talked about in January.
Head Coach Ron Rivera spoke with the media about the decision to name Dwayne Haskins the starting quarterback and more.
Posted by Washington Football Team on Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Dwayne Haskins Jr. is the starter:
Official: QB1 pic.twitter.com/4zz7yZZio7
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) September 2, 2020
Ron Rivera has named Dwayne Haskins the starting QB in Washington. Was a formality at this point but still big news for the 2nd year passer. Haskins has earned it.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 2, 2020
QB Dwayne Haskins will start Week 1 for the Washington Football Team, Ron Rivera announced. He wanted the players to know who was QB1.
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) September 2, 2020
"Dwayne has lived up to everything we've talked about since January."
— Kyle Stackpole (@kylefstackpole) September 2, 2020
Dwayne Haskins is the WFT starting QB, Ron Rivera tells reporters. No preseason games meant not having a competition as desired, but Rivera pleased with how the QB handled himself all year.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 2, 2020
What made today the right time for that decision?
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) September 2, 2020
Ron Rivera: “Just so you guys don’t ask that question anymore.”
Rivera said the way Haskins has handled himself has stood out to him. A franchise quarterback needs to approach the game differently from his decision making to his being a leader, and Rivera said he has been pleased with what he has seen from Haskins.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) September 2, 2020
Rivera said he doesn't want to prevent quarterbacks from making mistakes. There will never be growth without it. But he does want to see growth in learning from making decisions. Rivera said he has seen that out of Haskins.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) September 2, 2020
Rivera said Haskins has begun to "speed up" while running the offense. Rivera saw him slowly catch up to what he was seeing from the defense and how the offense operates. Now, not only has he caught up to those things, he's starting to get ahead of them.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) September 2, 2020
Cam Newton:
Coach Rivera has done this before.
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) September 2, 2020
He's ready to build the same thing with @dh_simba7 pic.twitter.com/GEXJ48PBDU
Ron Rivera on Dwayne Haskins: Hopefully we can ride it as long as I rode it with Cam
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 2, 2020
Ron Rivera on Dwayne Haskins:
— Chris Russell AKA The Rooster (@Russellmania621) September 2, 2020
"He deserved the opportunity. He deserves my support."
Compares the handling of this decision on how the Cam Newton situation went in 2011.
"Dwayne & him have the same ball."
Backup QB:
So, Ron Rivera says Dwayne Haskins is the starting QB. What about the primary backup???
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 2, 2020
No answer yet, Rivera says.
Team President Jason Wright:
Rivera has been impressed with everything about Jason Wright from his previous playing experience to his drive, determination and professionalism.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) September 2, 2020
“Just the fact that he’s an impressive young man. If you look at his history and who he is—you know a guy that went to Northwestern, walked on and a free agent in the NFL. That type of desire, that type of drive to play as long as he did and then go back and get his MBA, to me that just speaks of an impressive person. And then, when you sit down and talk to him, he’s equally as impressive.
To me, it’s an amazing thing that here’s a guy that went to Northwestern, played in the league as long as he did, got himself into the league just from pure effort and desire and then goes and gets his MBA—I think that’s a great story. I think that’s a great thing for our franchise because as far as our players are concerned, here’s a guy that can show them: ‘Hey, this is doable.
You don’t just have to be a football player for X amount of years and then you’re done. You can prepare yourself for later in life.’ That’s what Jason’s done and that’s why I think he’s perfect for us. He’s an excellent example for our players.”
OT David Sharpe trade:
On acquiring OT David Sharpe. Rivera says he's athletic, was available and and provides depth.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) September 2, 2020
Rivera said David Sharpe is a very athletic player and a guy who the coaching staff has always kept their eye on. He has the ability to play multiple positions and in time, he could push some of the other linemen on the roster.
— Zach Selby (@ZachDSelby) September 2, 2020
Thomas Davis Jr.'s leadership:
“It’s very important. But you also have a guy that’s had success so the guys can say, ‘Wow, this guy is pretty amazing.’ One of the guys that we had when I was in Carolina that had a specific role was we had [S] Roman Harper the year we went to the Super Bowl in 2015. The dude was phenomenal the way he did things. He knew his role. One day he played 30 plays and another game he played five plays, but he knew his role and he was there.
That’s what Thomas understands. This is a guy that it’s really about his messaging and helping me things across. He’s the perfect guy for it. Believe me, he wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think he was the perfect guy for it. He is going to help us along the way and he is going to play some football for us. But, I think what he’s going to bring to the table is a little bit more than just being out on the field. It’s the impact he makes in the locker room, the impact he makes in the huddle, the impact that he makes off the field.
Those guys are invaluable because they can sit there and they can tell guys. I promise you some point in time, Kyle Allen has told Dwayne: ‘Hey, you know what coach is going to be there behind you.’ I watch them do that when Cam was the guy, I watched him do that when I was the guy. I know that he’s probably helped Dwayne that way.
[LB] Jared Norris, another guy that’s a special teams guy, has probably told a couple of those young guys: ‘You go out there and bust your hump, Coach is going to recognize that. He’s going to see that. There’s value to that.’ You’ve got to have a few of those guys. I think having those types of guys, that do give you that type of effort, that’s pretty exciting.”