Captain Ron Rivera – “No Regret” with Carson Wentz’s trade

ASHBURN, VA — Washington captains coach Ron Rivera said he has no regrets about trading for the quarterback. Carson Wentzadding that they now need to continue building around it.

Rivera said the difference between his 1-4 leaders and the rest of the NFC East teams, all of whom are 4-1 or better, came down to the quarterback.

“The truth is, this is a quarterback-driven league,” Rivera said. “And if you look at the teams that have been able to maintain success, they have been able to build it around a specific midfielder.”

Washington traded two off-season drafts for Wentz, giving up a second-round pick in the previous draft and a conditional pick in 2023 that could become second based on playing time.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia (Galen Hurts), New York (Daniel Jones(and Dallas)Duck PrescottThey all entered the season with the same quarterback that started in 2021. Washington has started six quarterbacks in two or more seasons under Rivera, who ranges in age from 15 to 21.

Rivera said his point is that the other teams in the division are all built around their midfielders. Dallas, though, won four in a row with Cooper Rush Starting with the injured Prescott. Rivera said Rush, who has been with Dallas since 2020, plays well within what the Cowboys want them to run offensively with.

The Giants, who have gone 10-23 together in the past two years, have new head coach Brian Dabol and declined to pick Jones for the fifth year. They were also widely considered the worst team in the division to enter the season – and rallied to beat Green Bay on Sunday despite losing their top receiver.

The Eagles went from 6-10 in 2020 to 9-8 last season and 5-0 this year. Hurts has been the starter full-time for the past two seasons.

Wentz was not the main reason Washington faced. He threw four touchdown passes in the season opening win against Jacksonville and threw three in the second half the following week in a comeback that failed in Detroit.

Wentz is restricted to fifth in the NFL with 10 touchdowns, but is restricted to third with six interceptions. He ranked 24 on the overall QBR at 38.0 – two points ahead of Denver Russell Wilson And three in front of Indianapolis Matt Ryantwo other veterans who changed teams off-season.

“I have no regrets about our quarterback,” Rivera said. “I think the quarterback has done some good things. There have been two games where he struggled, but the way he presented [Sunday] He just shows you what he is capable of. We chose it because we believe in it. We chose it because we looked at what we felt were things referring to it.”

Wentz threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. He also threw an interception on the third goal and the goal from the 2-yard line with six seconds remaining.

“We have a guy that we think we have a chance to build around him,” Rivera said. “We have a guy who is really growing in what we do. I thought yesterday was a good indication of his potential for us in this, and we will continue to work with him.”

Washington’s offensive line was dismantled. The leaders started three spots and lost 60% of their original starts on Sunday. They did not adequately replace the departing guards Eric’s flowers (cut and Brandon Sheriff (free agent).

But the leaders already have a strong reception corps Terry McLaurinAnd the Curtis Samuel And the Jahan Dotson.

“We have some really good pieces in place,” Rivera said. “I’d like all of them to be on the field at the same time. We don’t do that, we can’t, so that’s our lot, so we have to go out and play.”