The New York Giants have broken the seal: Eli Manning has been benched and they will be the first team in 2019 to start a rookie quarterback.
Daniel Jones, the 5th overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft was officially named the football Giants starting quarterback Tuesday morning.
And the Washington Redskins rookie passer Dwayne Haskins reacted to the news with a single word on Twitter:
Sheesh
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr-- (@dh_simba7) September 17, 2019So does this mean it is time for Haskins to start for Washington? Well, likely not. Especially considering Case Keenum, though he has produced the same number of wins as Manning this season (zero), has played quite adequately through two games.
Keenum has completed 69.1 percent of his passes (56/81) for 601 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) and thrown five touchdowns without throwing a pick. He has missed some throws in big situations, but has not been as bad as the two-time Super Bowl winner in New York: two TDs and two picks with a 6.2 yards per attempt.
Well here we go. #Redskins up in Week 4 - short week.The QB that Jay Gruden reportedly wanted vs. the #Redskins who could be playing to save a lot of jobs in 13 days. https://t.co/GOx83Qd2bp
— Chris Russell (@Russellmania621) September 17, 2019Don't fall for false equivalence with Haskins and Jones. Eli has been real bad. Keenum hasn't. That's the difference.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 17, 2019And Haskins may not be ready to play in the regular season. While speaking with The Sports Junkies Tuesday, Radio.com NFL Insider Michael Lombardi said the rookie is not ready.
"If they put Dwayne Haskins in there, it will go from bad to real bad," Lombardi said on 106.7 The Fan. "Because the preseason's one thing, which he struggled in the preseason, the real bullets start flying when all of the sudden the game moves twenty percent faster. Third down becomes way more complicated. The defensive coordinators start to attack you in different ways and if you don't change the protection, re-route the (middle linebacker), put things into place, start to do this and it all has to happen in 15 seconds."
"This is not gonna happen with Haskins. And so if they put him in the game, it's over," Lombardi said, making reference to the Redskins' organizational inability to properly develop talent.
Things can change fast. And given the rate of quarterback injuries (and the Redskins' recent history with quarterback injuries) when Washington travels to the Meadowlands to face the Giants in Week 4, it could be a battle of the 2019 NFL Draft picks.
Or, it could even be Manning vs. Keenum.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @1067theFan on Twitter.

