The Washington Redskins were anxious to see Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday, a productive college player who needed time to develop. But they won't get that opportunity: Halliday is not attending this weekend's rookie minicamp and there's a chance he's done with football.
The Redskins had signed Halliday as an undrafted free agent, but he was coming off an ankle injury and, a source said, had lost his love for football. Perhaps he can get it back at a later time, but for now he could be done with football as the source said Halliday has "sort of" retired.
Halliday had impressed Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan with his productivity in college. He threw for 11,308 yards, 90 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. McCloughan, who lived in that region, saw him a few times and knows the Cougars’ coach, Mike Leach, well.
Earlier in the week, McCloughan said of Halliday, "He has a ways to go physically getting bigger and stronger, but a quarterback gets measured on statistics -- wins and losses and putting numbers up. Not knocking Washington State whatsoever, but the talent level wasn’t huge and he found a way to be successful."
Washington has two other quarterbacks on its roster for the minicamp this weekend: Hutson Mason from Georgia and Anthony Neyer from USC. Both are here on a tryout basis.
The Redskins could use another young quarterback with Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy entering the final year of their contracts. If Robert Griffin III plays well, then they have their quarterback for 2016 and beyond. But they would need to develop backups as Cousins, in particular, would likely look to play elsewhere.
