Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden Gives Troubling Response to His Plan at QB vs. Patriots
Week 4 of regular season play will have the New England Patriots traveling to take on the Washington Redskins, who are one of the worst teams in the NFL this season.
Among the many problems they have that has led them to an 0-4 start to the season is their quarterback situation. Case Keenum was the starter for the first the last month of football, but because of his poor play is getting bench for one of two options on the depth chart.
One option is rookie first round pick Dwayne Haskins, who replaced Keenum during their Week 4 game against the New York Giants and finished the contest with three interceptions. The other option is Colt McCoy, who returned to practice last week and seems to be fully recovered from a fractured fibula he suffered late last season.
Which one of those will get the nod as the starting quarterback on Sunday vs. the Patriots?
No one knows, not even Redskins head coach Jay Gruden.
Gruden was asked during his press conference on Wednesday what his plan was for QB in Week 5 against New England. His response was not just straightforward, but also worrisome.
"We don't have one right now," Gruden said via Nora Princiotti of the Boston Globe.
If you want to give Gruden the benefit of the doubt, then he was not telling the truth to keep New England off guard as to who would be at QB for the Redskins. McCoy and Haskins have different playing styles, so having to worry about both playing is just added work for New England. Putting McCoy in makes the most sense, as he has had success in Gruden's offense in the past, and Haskins needs more mental reps before he is thrown into the fire.
Or you could take Gruden's words as is, which means heading into practice today neither he or his coaching staff knew who the starting quarterback of the offense would be in four days. Either way, not much can be expected of the starting QB, not matter who it is. Washington will be going up against the No. 1 defense in the NFL in Week 5, which is a bad game waiting to happen for many QBs in the NFL.
