Giants and Washington sound quite different about their young QBs originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Dwayne Haskins and Daniel Jones are both 2019 first-round selections who are in the middle of very troubling second seasons.
After starting Washington’s first four games, Haskins was demoted to third on the depth chart. He then missed Week 5 because of an illness, one that was still plaguing him as of Wednesday’s practice. Thanks to some trade rumors that are surrounding him, there’s some thought that he may not even be with the organization in November.
In New York, Jones is at least still under center, though his numbers are distressing. He’s thrown just two touchdowns against five interceptions, taken sacks at a higher rate so far than he did as a rookie and is currently posting a QBR that’s 10 points lower than what he produced last year.
So, the supposed-to-be growing passers aren’t exactly growing the way either of their teams imagined they would be up to this point. However, the way those teams are handling the lack of growth varies greatly.
On Monday, Ron Rivera told NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay that he “saw enough” from Haskins during his stint as starter.
“Through the four games we didn’t see what we were looking for,” he said. “I made the decision to go forward with Kyle [Allen] and Alex [Smith].”
Between those comments and the fact that, uh, Rivera benched No. 7 just a handful of days after explaining that he’d let him take more lumps on the field, it’s obvious that the Burgundy and Gold are extremely down on the 15th overall pick from two drafts ago.
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The Giants, meanwhile, are backing Jones the way Washington recently aspired to, and recently did, with Haskins. During his time with the media on Wednesday, Joe Judge was very complimentary of the signal caller even though his performance has stagnated.
“We’re working on getting him really comfortable within the scheme, handling different situations,” Judge said. “He’s made a lot of progress for us. … He’s a very resilient guy, he’s a fighter. He stands there and plays very aggressive. I’m pleased with the way he’s played for the most part.”
Now, Haskins’ reported off-field issues and maturity concerns seem to have hastened his departure from the lineup, and if true, those are assuredly coloring the way Rivera talks about him. While both are struggling, Haskins apparently has also fallen off in his dedication, making it less plausible to defend him in the way Judge and New York is endorsing Jones.
Regardless, it’s noteworthy how divergent the support for Haskins and Jones has already become.
These two will forever be linked because they were selected just nine spots apart from one another and they began in the same division. When it comes to how their two franchises publicly feel about them not even halfway through their second campaigns, though, it feels like they’re in totally different places, and it didn’t take long at all for that to happen.