The Washington Redskins traded with the Carolina Panthers for a quarterback -- but not the one that perhaps some expected. Washington acquired Kyle Allen in exchange for a fifth-round pick, sources told ESPN.
Multiple sources said last week that Washington didn't have interest in adding Carolina's Cam Newton, who has ties with new Redskins coach Ron Rivera, nor were the Redskins interested in Jameis Winston.
The Redskins want to develop second-year QB Dwayne Haskins and sought a quarterback who could compete with him but would know how to handle being a backup.
When the Panthers signed P.J. Walker out of the XFL on Monday, it gave them five quarterbacks on the roster, including Newton. That made Allen expendable. Carolina had signed the exclusive-rights free agent to a one-year deal earlier this month.
Allen, an undrafted free agent out of Houston in 2018, gives Washington a quarterback who knows new coordinator Scott Turner's offense. Turner was Carolina's quarterbacks coach in both of Allen's seasons. It was important to add someone who knows the offense, given the possible lack of offseason work in the NFL this spring.
Haskins will have to learn a new offense, and the only other quarterback on the roster was veteran Alex Smith, still trying to recover from the broken tibia and fibula he suffered in November 2018.
Allen started 12 games last season -- all but two coming while Rivera still coached the Panthers. Allen threw 17 touchdowns to 16 interceptions and went 5-7, with the Panthers losing the last six starts.