Rivera keeping options open as trade deadline approaches originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The NFL Trade Deadline will hit in just a few weeks and for Washington Football head coach Ron Rivera, his team will consider all options.
“The biggest thing is as we sit down and talk as a staff, we talk about what some of our weaknesses are by position, what positions we want to shore up,” Rivera said Monday via the Washington Football Talk podcast.
“We talk about that all the time.”
In his short tenure as Washington’s football boss Rivera has already made a few big trades, shipping former left tackle Trent Williams to San Francisco and cornerback Quinton Dunbar to Seattle. Both trades brought back draft picks for Washington, and both trades showed Rivera’s willingness to move on from players that wanted off the team.
The focus now, however, is at quarterback.
After starting the season’s first four games, Rivera benched former first-round pick Dwayne Haskins last week to go with Kyle Allen at quarterback. That’s not all, as veteran Alex Smith moved up to the backup QB role, which demotes Haskins all the way to third-string and inactive on game days.
Washington’s coach explained that’s the plan for the foreseeable future too.
“Through the four games we didn’t see what we were looking for. I made the decision to go forward with Kyle and Alex,” the coach said.
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CBS Sports reported that trading Haskins would be the “best outcome possible” at this point and that some football executives around the NFL have begun to watch tape on the second-year passer.
For Rivera, making trades is all about the fit and value for the organization.
“And you never know – somebody may call you about a guy and say, ‘hey, what do you think?’ If it’s somebody you like, somebody that fits what you’re trying to do in terms of a rebuild, which is where we’re at, then you most certainly have to look at that possibility.”
When it comes to Haskins, Washington might have to look at the possibility.
Asked by reporters on Monday about Haskins’ future with the team, Rivera said he wants the young passer to keep working and growing even in a reduced role.
“As we continue to get into this and we get further down the road, who knows what’s going to happen? But, that’s what the expectation is. It’s no different from the expectation of any other player, and that’s to be in the meetings, learning, studying, being at practice, learning and studying, participating.”
The trade deadline is coming soon.
Rivera might not know what’s going to happen yet, but if something does happen with Haskins, it would hardly come as a shock.
