The Washington Redskins acquired quarterback Kyle Allen in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, reuniting Allen with Ron Rivera.

Remember: Rivera coached Allen for the first two years of the signal-caller's career with the Panthers before Rivera was fired this past December.

This is a solid move for the Redskins, but with one major qualifier: Allen needs to be a backup and should not even have the opportunity to start unless Dwayne Haskins gets hurt or stinks up the joint.

Since Rivera was hired as head coach of the Redskins earlier this offseason, it has seemed like he doesn't have a ton of confidence in Haskins.

Not only did Rivera not commit to Haskins as the starter for 2020, but Washington was also rumored to be interested in taking Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft next month (although that could have just been the Redskins putting that out there for leverage in trade talks).

That's why this Allen trade is a bit concerning, because Allen started 12 games for Carolina in 2019 and actually got off to a 4-0 start before the wheels came off from that point moving forward.

Perhaps Rivera actually views Allen as a potential starter over Haskins?

If that's the case, then something is very, very wrong here, because Allen seems like a low-ceiling quarterback. But let's operate under the assumption that Washington acquired Allen with the intention of him being a backup.

In that case, the Redskins made a good move.

Every team needs a reliable backup quarterback, because you never know what happens over the course of a 16-game campaign. Also, the fact that Allen did start for much of this past year could put some extra pressure on Haskins and possibly light a fire under him in training camp and preseason.

Not that Haskins should need any extra motivation, as he is guaranteed nothing, but it's human nature. If Haskins feels that his job is in jeopardy, he is naturally going to give it some extra gas.

Now, as the old adage goes, depth is only great until you have to use it. So, if Allen has to step in at any point in 2020, it means that Haskins either got injured or wasn't playing well. So, Redskins fans should really not want to see Allen on the field at all next season.

Still, teams would more often rather have a dependable No. 2 quarterback than an unproven commodity, so Allen at least provides Washington with some solid insurance, especially after losing both Case Keenum and Colt McCoy to free agency.

Clearly, Rivera made this move because he is familiar with Allen and knows that, at the very least, he is a competent quarterback who can win some games.

Hopefully, for the sake of the Redskins and their fans, he doesn't think Allen can supplant Haskins as the starter. Because that would create a whole lot of problems in Washington.