Dwayne Haskins will start at quarterback Sunday for the Washington Football Team against the Seattle Seahawks.
The team ruled Alex Smith out Friday due to a calf injury that sidelined him in the second half of last Sunday’s 23-15 win against the San Francisco 49ers.
Washington (6-7) has a one-game lead in the NFC East over the New York Giants entering the Week 15 clash with the visiting Seahawks (9-4).
Haskins, 23, completed 7 of 12 pass attempts for 51 yards in a relief effort against the 49ers. He has completed 60.8 percent of his passes this season for 990 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in five games. The 2019 first-round pick started the first four games of the season, compiling a 1-3 record.
“I think Dwayne will be ready, I do,” coach Ron Rivera said earlier this week. “If Alex can’t go, then we know that Dwayne will get all the work. And he’ll get an opportunity to focus in and game planning will be directed toward Dwayne, and we’ll see how that goes. So we’ll kind of look at that and go from here.”
Smith, 36, is 4-1 since taking over as the starter in Week 10. After missing all of 2019 recovering from a leg injury and a life-threatening infection, he has completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 1,420 yards with four TDs and six picks in seven appearances this season.