Andrew Ortenberg
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While sports leagues remain shutdown due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things to bet on. Fortunately sportsbooks are offering a wide variety of NFL props, and there are some that jump off the page. Draftkings is offering odds on who will be the Redskins’ starting quarterback come Week 1, and Dwayne Haskins is easy money at -177.
Ron Rivera has taken over as the head coach in Washington, and since accepting the job he has declined to firmly commit to Haskins as his starter. That has caused the media, and in turn oddsmakers, to overreact. Rivera is very clearly just trying to motivate Haskins, and the team isn’t going to give up on the 2019 first-rounder after less than half a season.
Coaches often equivocate to the media even though it’s clear what the plan is behind the scenes, as we’ve seen with Nick Foles and the Bears. Rivera doesn’t want Haskins taking it easy or slacking off, so he’s publicly suggested there will be a competition.
There isn’t going to be much of a competition, and the proof is in the options the Redskins have behind Haskins right now. Not counting Alex Smith who continues to recover from his gruesome leg injury that will likely prevent him from ever playing again, they only have Kyle Allen.
Allen was an undrafted free agent in 2018, and he was atrocious down the stretch for the Panthers last year. Allen certainly isn’t beating out Haskins, and the team has made it abundantly clear they won’t be adding a high profile veteran like Cam Newton.
Lost amid all this talk is the fact that Haskins actually started to play pretty well late in the year in his last few starts. In fact in his last two outings he had four touchdowns with no interceptions while averaging 9.2 yards per attempt.
He did it without any semblance of a supporting cast of weapons, and a dreadful offensive line. He was starting to build some buzz, and they’re almost certainly going to let him continue that. Getting -177 is a steal.
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