Kyle Allen has mindset that he will compete for starting job

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New Washington coach Ron Rivera traded for his former backup quarterback in Carolina, Kyle Allen, last week. But Rivera said Dwayne Haskins would go into any quarterback competition with the starting job his to lose.

Allen understands his role but wants at least to push Haskins to win the job.

“I think the expectation is to come in and compete for the job,” Allen said in a conference call with beat reporters Tuesday, via Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I think that’s an awesome opportunity.”

Allen, 24, started more games last season than Haskins did. Allen went 5-7 in place of the injured Cam Newton, throwing 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Haskins, the 15th overall selection last year, was 2-5 with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions as a rookie.

Allen said he has never met Haskins, but they have exchanged text messages.

“We’ve been doing it our whole lives,” Allen said of competing for playing time. “We’ve been doing it since we were in high school, trying to compete against different guys. At the same time, you get to meet a lot of really cool people in the process. Cam and Will [Greer] in Carolina, we all came out with great relationships.”

Allen won’t receive a playbook until the virtual offseason program begins. But he has an advantage over Haskins, having played for Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner last year in Carolina.

“I think the continuity with the system is huge for me, and I think it’s going to be big for the team, too,” Allen said. “If we don’t have a lot of OTAs or don’t have OTAs at all, it gives at least someone on the team a chance with experience in the system to be able to teach it to the other guys and the offense, and relay what the coaches are saying, and just kind of teach the offense to everyone and teach the language.”

Washington, of course, would rather have Haskins win the job. The team spent a first-round choice on Haskins in 2019 to become its franchise quarterback, not ride the bench behind an undrafted journeyman.