The news of Dwayne Haskins' benching came as a surprise to many Wednesday morning when the move was announced, but according to Les Carpenter of The Washington Post, mitigating factors behind the scenes may have played into Ron Rivera's decision.
Kyle Allen will be the starting quarterback for the Washington Football Team for the foreseeable future after Ron Rivera demoted Haskins to third string on Wednesday. The big news in the nation's capital had many pundits, both locally and nationally, questioning the news, but the decision may not have been just a result of the second-year quarterback's average play.
A person with knowledge of the situation told The Post Haskins' "lack of preparation" was hurting him in games, "leading to overthrown passes and missed opportunities to hit open receivers."
The Post also learned one of Haskins' teammates had been pushing him to work harder, pointing out that veteran QB Alex Smith — who hasn't been active until this week, when he will back up Allen — had been getting to the team facility earlier than Haskins and preparing more efficiently.
Through the first four weeks of the 2020 NFL season, Haskins ranks 27th in completion percentage (61%), behind rookies Joe Burrow (21st, 65.5%) and Justin Herbert (7th, 72%), as well as behind division rival Daniel Jones (26th, 61.1%). In terms of passing touchdowns, Haskins is tied with Carson Wentz for 23rd, with 4. Both aforementioned rookies are ahead of him in that category, Herbert with 5, and Burrow with 6. Haskins' QBR ranks 32nd amongst NFL quarterbacks, another statistic that isn't doing him any favors.
When you combine his on-field play with the team's 1-3 record, and these reported issues in preparation and practice, the decision to bench Haskins starts to not seem so outrageous.
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