Alex Smith to Be WFT QB After Kyle Allen's Injury with Dwayne Haskins as Backup

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera confirmed Alex Smith will remain the starting quarterback when the team plays at the Detroit Lions in Week 10.

Dwayne Haskins Jr. will be the backup.

Kyle Allen was carted off the field in the first quarter of Sunday's 23-20 defeat to the New York Giants. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported he suffered a dislocation and a "small fracture" of his left ankle.

Smith threw for 325 yards—his most since Dec. 3, 2017—and one touchdown but also finished with three interceptions.

Rivera's announcement after the game didn't come as a big surprise since Haskins wasn't even active Sunday. Washington wasn't going to turn around within a week and make him the starter again.

However, one could argue Rivera has a vested interest in allowing the 2019 first-round pick to have another run of games between now and the end of the year—assuming Allen's injury is season-ending.

Earlier in the week, the coach downplayed the idea the team has given up on Haskins.

"It's funny, I benched the guy and it’s like everybody thinks his career is over here in Washington," Rivera said on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington). "It's not. There's potential, there's opportunity. The kid has an NFL arm; it's just a matter of him developing."

Those comments came after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Washington was willing to discuss trade offers for Haskins ahead of last Tuesday's deadline.

Peter King of NBC Sports speculated in his most recent Football Morning In America column that he would've been surprised if "a team would trade anything but a Day 3 draft pick for [Haskins]."

Washington is tied for second in the NFC East at 2-6, but the playoffs will probably be a bridge too far barring a collapse from the Philadelphia Eagles. The team won't have much to play for once the postseason door shuts completely.

That's why it would make sense to get Haskins on the field. Even if his long-term future in Washington is murky, he could audition for possible suitors in the offseason.