Washington names Haskins starting QB
Washington coach Ron Rivera on Wednesday announced Dwayne Haskins will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Eagles.
The decision confirmed Haskins, who is entering his second season, did enough to earn the job over Kyle Allen, whom Rivera knew well from his time with the Panthers, and Alex Smith, who is returning after missing the end of the 2018 season and all of last season with a broken right leg.
‘‘Dwayne’s lived up to everything we talked about in January,’’ Rivera said, referring to the time he was named Washington’s coach. ‘‘He deserves the opportunity. He’s going to get the opportunity, and he’s going to get my support.’’
‘‘I just wanted to come in and show how much work I put in this offseason,’’ Haskins said. ‘‘I’m just trying to do my best and master the [new] offense as much as I can.’’
Cousins: ‘If I die [of virus], I die’
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said he’s unconcerned about catching the coronavirus, with a worry on a scale of one to 10 that’s ‘‘about a 0.000001.’’
In a wide-ranging interview for an NFLthemed podcast, Cousins said he wants to ‘‘respect other people’s concerns’’ about COVID-19 by wearing a face covering. He also said he’s counting on his health and fitness as safeguards against the disease.
‘‘I’m going to go about my daily life,’’ Cousins told host Kyle Brandt. ‘‘If I get it, I’m going to ride it out. I’m going to let nature do its course, a survival-of-the-fittest kind of approach . . . .
‘‘Even if I die, I die. I kind of have peace about that. That’s really where I fall on it, so my opinion on wearing a mask is really about being respectful to other people. It really has nothing to do with my personal thoughts.’’
Bengals give Mixon $48M extension
The Bengals signed running back Joe Mixon to a four-year, $48 million contract extension that runs through the 2024 season. They drafted him in the second round in 2017 out of Oklahoma, where he was suspended for punching a woman in the face.
Mixon has emerged as one of the NFL’s top running backs, running for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons despite of an offensive line that struggled to open holes.
Report: Pats to release WR Sanu
NFL Network reported the Patriots have told receiver Mohamed Sanu they intend to release him.
The Patriots acquired Sanu in a trade last October with the Falcons for a second-round draft pick last spring, but a variety of injuries limited him to 26 catches for 207 yards in eight games (six starts) with them.