Ron Rivera: Dwayne Haskins right where he needs to be at this junction

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Washington head coach Ron Rivera said on Tuesday that he is “pleasantly surprised” by how quarterback Alex Smith has looked since getting cleared for football activities and reiterated that he can see Smith being part of a quarterback competition this summer.

Rivera also spent some time talking about the quarterback who ended last season as the team’s starter. Dwayne Haskins had his rough moments in seven starts as a rookie and the first-round pick had to learn a new offense remotely this offseason, but Rivera said he isn’t “very far behind” as a result of that impediment.

“He’s done a great job of studying, preparing and getting himself ready for this,” Rivera said, via Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com. “He’s been great. He’s been on the field, doing the things we’ve asked of him. He’s done the extra stuff that he and I talked about in the offseason. He’s done the things that, I think, puts him right there where he needs to be at this junction of where we are in our training, having only been able to do Zoom and now only having four days of work on the field. He’s done the job that I think deserves recognition, so I appreciate you asking about that.”

Washington hasn’t held a practice yet this summer and Smith remains on the physically unable to perform list, so there’s a lot that still needs to play out before we’ll know for sure who will be under center in September.