Birds will face Haskins at QB in opener

PHILADELPHIA » Dwayne Haskins Jr. will quarterback Washington in the season opener against the Eagles, which is two Sundays away.

The announcement Wednesday by head coach Ron Rivera was a foregone conclusion because veteran Kyle Allen is more of a tutor than a player and veteran Alex Smith is getting used to his reconstructed leg after a gruesome compound fracture followed by complications that almost took his life a couple of years ago.

Last year the Eagles beat Haskins, 37-27, at FedEx Field although he threw for 261 yards, two touchdowns and a 121.3 passer rating.

The bigger news is that Scott Turner, the son of former Washington football coach Norv Turner, is the offensive coordinator for Rivera.

Turner took over the play-calling last season for his pop, who moved upstairs as a special, assistant with the Panthers after Rivera was canned.

In four games called by Turner, the Panthers threw the ball almost 70 percent of the time on first down. Only three teams threw the ball more than the Panthers last season.

Turner devised game plans around Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 TD’s and produced 1,004 receiving yards, with four scores.

This year Washington has 35-year-old running back Adrian Peterson and one accomplished receiver in Terry McLaurin.

The Eagles are favored by 6.5 points.

••• Earmarked for a significant role in the big nickel, Eagles safety Will Parks could miss a couple of games with a hamstring strain.

The NFL Network reported that Parks likely will miss 4-to-6 weeks.

Parks was having a solid training camp. He provided coordinator Jim Schwartz with veteran versatility and depth.

Elsewhere on the injury front, quarterback Carson Wentz (lower body) on Wednesday was idle for a third straight practice and rookie receiver Jalen Reagor (shoulder) participated only in conditioning work.

Cornerback Avonte Maddox and defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway both are day-to-day with lower body injuries, per the Eagles.

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (pectoral muscle) got back on the field to do conditioning work.

••• Finally, Wednesday marked another birthday for Merrill Reese, the voice of the Eagles.

Reese is approaching his 44th season broadcasting Birds games.