Tua Tagovailoa Rumors: Peter Schrager Believes Redskins Draft Buzz 'A Lot'
March 4, 2020
The Washington Redskins might be prepared to select a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft for the second year in a row.
Fox Sports' Peter Schrager said Wednesday on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that he's buying into the notion of Washington selecting Tua Tagovailoa "a lot."
Washington selection Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick a year ago. The former Ohio State star struggled in his rookie season, which wasn't too surprising since he only started one full year for the Buckeyes before moving on to the NFL.
Before suffering an ankle injury, Haskins began showing promise toward the end of 2019, though. He went 47-of-70 for 564 yards, five touchdowns and one interception over his final three starts.
The Redskins have a new head coach (Ron Rivera) and fired team president Bruce Allen in December, though. Rivera didn't pick Haskins and may have a different vision for the offense.
The Sun Sentinel's Safid Deen reported the team "told Tagovailoa they want to bring him to Washington to compete with [Haskins] during their meeting at the NFL combine. According to NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay, Rivera wasn't present when the Redskins spoke with the Alabama star.
Haskins has appeared to reference the ongoing speculation on social media:
Were Washington to grab Tagovailoa with the No. 2 pick, it wouldn't be an unheard-of move. The Arizona Cardinals picked Josh Rosen 10th overall in 2018 and then used the No. 1 overall selection on Kyler Murray in 2019.
Tagovailoa's arrival would all but guarantee Haskins' departure, though, and Washington might see Haskins' trade value diminish significantly. And the longer he stayed in the nation's capital the more leverage the team would lose.
The Cardinals traded Rosen to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-rounder. Arizona used the second-rounder to take wide receiver Andy Isabella. It ultimately looked like a poor return given what the franchise had originally invested in Rosen.
Tagovailoa might prove to be a better long-term fit for Washington, but it could mean taking a significant loss on Haskins before he has had enough time to truly prove whether he can be a franchise QB.