Alex or Dwayne? Who Should Play vs. Seahawks?

ASHBURN, Va. - The Washington Football Team has a dilemma for this Sunday in their return to FedExField against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

Do they start the quarterback that they completely trust and want to play (Alex Smith), who is clearly less than 100%?

Or do they try and give Smith extra time to recover and heal, while not putting him in jeopardy on his surgically repaired right and plant leg - meaning Dwayne Haskins gets the nod?

Washington is optimistic about QB Alex Smith's chances for starting Sunday against the #Seahawks, though his practice time this week is expected to be limited. Meanwhile, the #Giants have decisions to make on Daniel Jones. @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/CfJMr2EzAn
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 15, 2020

Let's be clear: Smith's injury that led to Washington keeping him out of Sunday's win in the second half, has nothing to do with Smith's compound fracture and 17 surgeries.

That doesn't mean the strained calf that Smith is recovering from won't have an impact on his performance if he does play against the Seahawks.

Coach Ron Rivera wouldn't exactly say it but trust me, this is true: Rivera and Scott Turner completely trust Alex Smith and believe in his ability to run the offense the correct way and make the right decisions.

Does that mean Smith is great? No. He's clearly hot-and-cold since coming back from his near two-year absence. But make no mistake: The staff would rather have Smith's temperature spiking a bit and spiraling a bit than hoping and trusting Haskins gets the job done in a money spot.

The problem has everything to do with the fact that if Smith is the starter and looks bad or re-injures himself on Sunday at home, there is no reason to have faith that Haskins would come in and try to go score-for-score with Wilson, D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

That could happen; It's just that Haskins has not established it. If Haskins is going to get most or all of the first-team reps on Wednesday and Thursday (because he surely needs them), we can argue he should probably start, assuming he does well in that practice work.

If not, assuming Smith is cleared and close to or at 100% ... WFT can obviously go to him.

Haskins, by the way, would also be aided of somehow Antonio Gibson comes back from his toe injury.

The options are tricky. This is not about performance, belief or trust in Alex Smith. This is about making a choice between a quarterback who is trusted but maybe compromised and a young signal-caller working to earn that trust. And all that is riding on WFT's decision is, quite possibly, a playoff berth and more.

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