We are still many days away from the start of the Washington Redskins' training camp, and that's assuming the NFL lockout gets resolved before then. But it appears that, as of right now, John Beck will indeed be given every opportunity to become the team's starting quarterback. Mike Jones of the Washington Post is reporting that Beck has been guaranteed a chance to at least compete for the job.
When pressed whether that meant Beck would be his starter in 2011, [Mike] Shanahan said: "I'm not going to go into specifics." But Beck said he has been told he will compete for the job, the opportunity he has been seeking for three years.
This comes after the Redskins did not take a quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft. Incumbent Rex Grossman, who took over for Donovan McNabb at the end of the 2010 season, is a free agent. McNabb is technically under contract, but it is widely expected that he will be wearing another team's uniform after he had a falling out with Shanahan and was benched. However, it remains likely that the Redskins would sign a veteran to at least compete with Beck once free agency resumes.
Beck has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 2007, but Shanahan traded for him last summer and remains very high on his potential.