Keenum, Mccoy lead Washington QB contest
Rookie first-round pick Dwayne Haskins could still win the quarterback competition in Washington, but two veterans are ahead of him at this stage, coach Jay Gruden said.
Colt Mccoy and Case Keenum hold an edge in the open battle based on experience, Gruden told MMQB.
“I’d say the vets probably have a little bit of a leg up on him, just because they’re vets and they’ve played,” Gruden said. “Case has played a lot of football ... Colt’s an experienced guy in the system, he’s coming off that injury, we just have to see how he is running around.
“There’s a lot Dwayne still has to learn, but he can get there.”
Haskins has 10 days to make his mark based on Gruden’s timeline. He wants to make a call on the pecking order of his passers by Aug. 22, the day of the third preseason game against Atlanta.
Alex Smith started for Washington last season, but complications during and after surgery to repair a broken leg make his return this season beyond unlikely.
Keenum, 31, became available when Denver acquired Joe Flacco from Baltimore. He has 54 NFL starts with the Broncos, Minnesota, St. Louis/los Angeles Rams and Houston.
Mccoy, who turns 33 the night of the NFL regular-season opener between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, had surgery to repair a broken right leg. He’s been in Washington since 2014, but made only six starts in those five seasons with 41 pass attempts in the past four years.
Haskins, the 15th overall pick out of Ohio State, threw two interceptions in his preseason debut.
“I think they’ve all done some really good things without a doubt, and they’ve all done some things we’ve got to coach,” Gruden said.
A week after leaving practice early with a groin injury, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt returned to the practice field on Monday.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year sustained the injury during a joint practice session with Green Bay and did not play in Thursday’s 28-26 preseason loss to the Packers.
“It’s all just precautionary,” Watt said last week.
Watt, 30, was not likely to play in the preseason opener even if he was at 100 per cent.
After missing 13 games in 2016 and 11 games in 2017, Watt was healthy for the full slate in 2018 and looked like his old self with 16 sacks and seven forced fumbles.