Washington Redskins: Pros and cons of trading up for Dwayne Haskins
By Hunter Noll
Con: Jay Gruden’s Future is in Question
The current head coach of the Washington Redskins is Jay Gruden. He’s been there since 2014 and things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly. With that in mind, there’s no certainty about how much longer he’ll be there. If the Redskins trade up and take Dwayne Haskins, they’ll want stability at the head coach position.
However, if they underachieve next season, Gruden could be gone. If that happens, Haskins would be getting a new head coach (and likely a new system) after just one season in the NFL. Even if the Redskins keep Gruden, what if they struggle again the next year? Two more disappointing seasons and it’s hard to see him staying.
Any rookie quarterback who a franchise wants to build around should have stability at the head coach position. This will maximize the growth of said player, and benefit both him and the franchise in the long run. That being said, no one would blame the Redskins if they get tired of struggling and want to make a change.
However, trading up for a quarterback in the draft means you’re planning on building around him. Throwing a curveball that early in his career is a terrible move. It could do a lot of irreversible damage to the progress of the player.
You could also look at the Arizona Cardinals. They drafted Josh Rosen then got a new coach after year one. Rumors immediately started flying that the new coach didn’t want Rosen, though — he had other plans at the position. Now the Cardinals could be trading their first-round quarterback after one year, and not getting a great return on him.
It could easily be the thing that puts a young quarterback’s career into a downward spiral. If that’s what happens, the Redskins could very well end up wasting their pick and everything they traded. Gruden’s uncertainty could make trading up for a franchise quarterback a bad decision.