It’s official, Jay Gruden has named Colt McCoy the Redskins starting quarterback in Week 5 against the New England Patriots. It was plan all along, as Gruden and offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell implied after news broke.
Gruden said he knew McCoy was the plan “long ago” per Matthew Paras of the Washington Times. Gruden added it was McCoy’s job to lose in training camp before he was re-injured.
McCoy got all the first team reps this week in practice and that the team knew, Gruden added.
O’Connell said “McCoy is now healthy” and that the players have rallied around him.
And that’s the point. Starting McCoy was the plan all along. Here in DC, we all knew that. Yet, the national media went ballistic about Gruden’s sarcastic comments that the Redskins didn’t have a plan for QB this week.
It was clear. Gruden had to wait to see how McCoy’s leg would respond after each day of practice. It obviously went well, and now McCoy will have the daunting task to go up against the best defense in the NFL and defending Super Bowl champions, the Patriots.
So, no it won’t be Case Keenum, who threw five interceptions in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears and stumbled early with a foot injury in the first quarter of Week 4 against the New York Giants. And no it won’t be the rookie Dwayne Haskins, who is not ready, yet every fan, and some pundits want to start in a lost season.
Whether McCoy is the answer or if he will prevent Gruden’s inevitable firing remains to be seen. What is known, the head coach will go down with the quarterback he trusts the most.
