Woeful Washington Should Be Safe, Not Sorry, in Starting Call on Dwayne Haskins

Be careful, Washington. Be very, very careful with quarterback Dwayne Haskins. 

We know you are desperate. We know Haskins is good. But playing him now, with your terrible offensive line, could get him wrecked.

That's what some teams (from the AFC) are telling me. But you don't have to be a football expert to know Washington's offensive line is problematic, especially without its star, left tackle Trent Williams. Haskins could be hit so hard that he time-travels.

Playing him now, scouts and front-office personnel from these teams say, would be reckless.

Yes, they understand. They get it. The Washington football team hasn't been good in years. It's not solely because of the owner, Dan Snyder—one of the least popular owners in sports.

It's not solely because of an inept front office.

It's not just coach Jay Gruden, who is 35-47-1 in six years, with just one postseason appearance and a 7-9 record in each of his last two years.

It is all of those things. Yet as one NFC scout said, if you want to really understand what has happened to Washington and what could happen next, look at its starting quarterbacks over the past decade-plus. 

Some of them include: Josh Johnson, Mark Sanchez, Rex Grossman, John Beck, Donovan McNabb, Tim Hasselbeck, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins, Danny Wuerffel, Tony Banks and...

...Jeff George.

Robert Griffin III was really good with Washington but got hurt. Alex Smith was good but shattered his leg last year and may never play football again. Kirk Cousins left for Minnesota.

It's been a quarterback train wreck in Washington. This is why the team may be so desperate to play Haskins.

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Gruden initially seemed to understand the risk of playing Haskins now. He said after Washington's humiliating 31-15 loss to the Bears on Monday that he wasn't contemplating a change at quarterback. That night, Case Keenum had three interceptions (including a pick-six) and three fumbles (losing two).

"I think the most important thing is we have to have some continuity," Gruden said after the game. "You know, I can't be changing people every five minutes here."

Then on Tuesday, Gruden said something similar.

"Well, we've played three games, and there's 13 games left in the season," Gruden said. "This season is not lost. It's not over. I know everybody wants to say, 'It's over, and the season is over, so go ahead and play Haskins.'

"...If we feel like Dwayne gives us the best chance to win in a coming game, we'll definitely put Dwayne in there. If we feel like it's Colt [McCoy] when he gets healthy, it could be Colt. Right now, we feel like it's Case Keenum, and we're going to move forward with him this week."

That thinking seemed to change one day later. Gruden sounded far more open Wednesday to playing Haskins, saying the quarterback's opportunity is "not far away."

What changed? People who regularly are in touch with Snyder, and know how he operates, believe he saw highlights of Giants rookie Daniel Jones torching the Buccaneers and thinks Haskins can do the same to the Giants this Sunday.

Snyder knows the history of Washington quarterbacks, how miserable it is, and wants to change that narrative immediately.

However, there's one substantial difference between the Giants and Snyder's team. It's the offensive line.

Williams is Washington's best offensive lineman and remains in a contract dispute with the team. Without him, the team's line is a mess.

Washington should consider the sometimes scary history of rookie and young quarterbacks playing behind poor offensive lines. Andrew Luck was battered and is now out of the league. Cam Newton was battered and has been breaking down. Deshaun Watson was sacked a league-high 62 times last year.

Haskins could face a similar plight if he plays too soon.

Haskins is talented enough to change things in Washington for the better.

But the team had better be careful. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Because a bad offensive line is bad for Dwayne's health.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.